Bristol has two mainline railway stations and an airport with none — which is why the station-to-airport leg trips up so many journeys through the city.
Bristol Temple Meads
Brunel's original terminus, and the station you want for the city centre, the harbourside and onward trains to Bath. It is also the city end of the Airport Flyer A1 bus, which makes it the public-transport link to Bristol Airport — around 30 minutes on the bus, longer at peak times with luggage. By car the station is about 8 miles from the airport via the A38, typically 25 to 30 minutes.
Bristol Parkway
A completely different station north of the city, near where the M32 meets the M4 — not a second entrance to Temple Meads. It is the fast stop for South Wales and London Paddington services and it sits closer to Filton, Bradley Stoke and the northern business parks. Crucially, the Airport Flyer does not serve Parkway: connecting the airport with Parkway on public transport means routing through the city centre first, a long way round for a station that is barely further by road.
Which one you actually want
Choose Temple Meads for the centre, Clifton, the harbour and anything heading towards Bath. Choose Parkway for the northern fringe, Aztec West, the M4 corridor and fast London or Cardiff trains. Getting this wrong costs you a cross-city fare on top of your ticket.
Booking the station leg
Any Bristol address works as a pickup or drop-off point for BristolRide, both stations included. Your driver meets you at the station entrance, handles the luggage and gets you to the terminal — or the other way, straight from arrivals at Bristol Airport to your platform, at a price fixed before you book. Read how the airport end works in the Bristol Airport guide, or compare every way into the city in our Flyer bus, taxi or transfer breakdown.