Some might say that Clifton is the 'face of Bristol' as it is home to arguably the city's most iconic landscape and landmarks.
When people think of Bristol, especially those who aren't from the city, the image of the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge (maybe with a few hot air balloons thrown in for good measure), is probably the first thing that comes to mind. To cut a long story short, Clifton is synonymous with Bristol - which is probably one reason why property here is the most expensive in the city.
According to a list of the most expensive homes sold in the area between January and March, 2022, the most expensive property - situated on Pembroke Road in Clifton - was a detached house which sold for £2,420,000 in February. Another making the list was a terrace house on Richmond Terrace, which sold back in January for £1,750,000.
Read more: Hillfields: Life in the neighbourhood with Bristol's cheapest properties
Of course, it could also be the history - Clifton's architecture dates back centuries and historic monuments can be found behind almost every corner. There are famous historical pubs, shops, buildings, an observatory and a 186-year-old zoo, among other fanciful amenities.
Then you have modern-day Clifton - a hub of bustling cosmopolitan city life that could have you wondering whether you have woken up in an episode of Sex and the City or something similar (maybe a little less dramatic). Independent shops are filled with treasures, artisan makes and more, while a network of bars, restaurants and cafes keep locals and visitors alike well fed and watered.
If you live elsewhere in the city, you may dress up for a night out in Clifton - which makes special occasions and the like extremely convenient for Bristolians as you can experience all the wonderment of somewhere like London or Bath right here on your own doorstep. Then you have the green spaces, museums, festivals and events that make Clifton not just for the business people, students or naturally well-off folk here, but also for families the city, county and country over - days out in Clifton are a must when visiting.
The thing that sets Clifton apart from such places as London or Bath is the people. As many workers mentioned to us as we strolled around a bustling Clifton this week, the people here are extremely diverse, individual, friendly, creative and just downright cool.
Tina Lloyd, who has run the Lloyds Flowers shop in Clifton Down Shopping Centre for more than 20 years said that, despite Clifton Down sitting right on the Clifton boundary, it is just as full of a wide array of different individuals as the more central parts of Clifton. She said: "Clifton is full of diversity. There's a wide variety of people here and the area is definitely one of the nicest parts of Bristol."
Tina herself used to live in Clifton and moved away purely because she had started a family. She had a few shops across Bristol and her parents and ancestors even owned the famous Lloyds fishmongers in the city.
During our walk around Clifton, Bristol Live spoke to more visitors to the area than actual residents and people working in shops, cafes and other establishments commented that this could be down to residents working outside of Bristol and earning a 'London wage', with those working in Clifton actually unable to afford to live there.
Being closer to the shops and hubbub of inner-city life is one of the factors that draw in new residents from both outside of Bristol and elsewhere in the city, too. Chloe Sorensen, who deals with lettings at Cliftons and Butlers estate agents in the area says that people come from as far as Hong Kong to reside here, even just for a short while.
She said: "We see a bit of everything here. There are a lot of people relocating, sometimes even from London or Hong Kong - we usually see students from Hong Kong who are given funds from their university in order to live here while they do their Masters Degree.
"But then again we also see people moving in and around the city, too. People will move from Portishead because they are wanting to be closer to the shops and in a more central location, while on the other hand people might choose to relocate from Clifton to Portishead because they want to be closer to the water or have even more green space."
Chloe also said that in the past couple of years there has been a clear change to evaluations and lettings, due to a number of factors - one being the Covid-19 pandemic. She said: "In the past two years I have noticed a complete change - since Covid, 2020 evaluations were the lowest, there weren't many at all.
"Then there was a rise again in summer 2021 where we had a few hundred more lettings, before it went down again at Christmas. Things were sticking and properties were being let for hundreds less than the previous year.
"Now, a lot of things you would value from, say, two months ago, you'd have to add another £200 or so to the price."
Chloe added that it's not just the pandemic that has affected prices where lettings are concerned - during the winter period in any year, estate agents like the one Chloe works for will notice dips. She added: "Christmas and winter is a time of year where people aren't looking to move, so we expect a slight dip but prices don't tend to drop as much as they did this time round.
"We can never really plan for what will happen to the market in the future as it is really all up in the air. It changes all the time and you just can't expect it. You just have to go with the flow.
"I expect in the summer it's always a lot better so prices will go up and then back down in the winter. It's a wave and Covid has been somewhat a bit of a different wave to usual. I'd never let a landlord let a property in the winter for less than the price they're looking for, but sometimes you have to go by what they want to do.
"Students tend to look around for accommodation in July as soon as they have finished school and a lot of people look to move in the summer. It could be for a reason as simple as the fact their current property doesn't have a balcony or green space nearby and so they are looking for an aspect like that in which to enjoy the summer sun."
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