New café opens in Bristol's Castle Park

A new café has opened in one of Bristol city centre's busiest green spaces.

Castle Park Coffee Co has launched at the Old Market end of Castle Park, next to a path which is commonly used by commuters going to and from work on foot and bicyle.

It is run by husband and wife Ashley and Holly Lewis, who before the arrival of Covid-19 took their mobile truck to festivals and shows all over the UK.

With the pandemic forcing nearly all events to be cancelled, the Chipping Sodbury couple had to do things a little differently and set about finding the perfect spot in the city to launch a permanent site.

"Castle Park has plenty of footfall and it hosts lots of protests and events, so it felt like the ideal place for us to open," said Ashley, 32.

"It's been steady since we launched last month and we've really enjoyed getting to know more and more customers as people find out about us.

"We're looking forward to more of the nearby workers returning to the office over the coming months, which is when we think we'll see an increase in footfall.

"It's definitely an interesting time to launch a new place like this but we're delighted to be up and running."

Castle Park Coffee Co serves "classic café food and drink," added Ashley, including freshly ground coffee, iced coffees and slushies, cakes, paninis and chocolate bars.

Its arrival means there are now two food outlets in the city centre park, with the new venture joining the long-running Edna's Kitchen.

Ashley and Holly hope to purchase a second van when events return, enabling them to continue running their Castle Park café alongside taking their business on the road.