Geographical Boundaries of Bristol

There are a number of different ways in which Bristol's boundaries are defined, depending on whether the boundaries attempt to define the city, the built-up area, or the wider region of "Greater Bristol".

The narrowest definition of the city is the city council boundary, which comprises a large section of the Severn Estuary west as far as, but not including, the islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm.

A slightly wider definition is used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This includes built-up areas which adjoin Bristol but do not lie within the city council boundary (such as Whitchurch village, Filton, Patchway, Bradley Stoke), and excludes non-built-up areas within the city council boundary.

The ONS has also defined an area called the "Bristol Urban Area", which includes Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Stoke Gifford, Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, Almondsbury and Easton-in-Gordano.

The term "Greater Bristol" usually refers to the area occupied by the city and parts of the three neighbouring local authorities (Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire), an area sometimes also known as the "former Avon area" or the "West of England".