Bristol Harbour Festival 2026: How to get there, road closures and diversions

Bristol Harbour Festival returns this weekend from 6pm on Friday July 17 to 7pm on Sunday July 19, celebrating the city's maritime history with a full programme of live entertainment. Organisers are this year encouraging festivalgoers to walk, cycle or take public transport to the event.

The festival is served by train services provided by Great Western Railway, which runs services into Bristol Temple Meads from London Paddington, Bath, Gloucester, Weston-super-Mare, Cardiff, Exeter and beyond. From the station, Bristol Harbour Festival is a short walk or better still ferry ride away. Cycle routes and parking are plentiful heading into the site, and public transport will get you there.

However, organisers will be implementing essential road closures and suspending certain bus routes to transform the festival area into a car-free zone. The Grove will be closed from 4pm on Friday through to 10pm on Sunday to facilitate the festival. First Bus has taken the decision to pull out of Broad Quay between 7pm and 11.59pm on Friday and Saturday, although there will be no physical road closure due to safety concerns.

Services from towards South Bristol and Bath as well as services from towards Broadmead will be affected. Festivalgoers can see the full list on the First Bus site. Other roads around the festival including Wapping Road and Prince Street will also be closed to allow festivalgoers to walk between stages. A one-way system across Pero's Bridge from Anchor Square to Queen Square will be enforced at peak times organisers say.

The free-to-attend festival runs from 6-10pm on Friday, 11am-10pm on Saturday and 11am-7pm on Sunday. Visitors do not need tickets to attend, though security checks will take place before entering certain areas of the festival.