Bristol Wapping Wharf Easter Trail 2022 - what to expect and how to enjoy it

Wapping Wharf’s annual Easter trail, organised by the Wapping Wharf Steering Committee, is returning for a two-week period from 9th-24th April after a two-year hiatus because of Covid-19.

The free event means that families will be able to join in the hunt for brightly coloured cut-out eggs amongst Wapping Wharf’s eclectic mix of independent shops and eateries on Gaol Ferry Steps and at CARGO 1 and 2. Hopefully, it will be the perfect way to entertain kids and adults alike throughout the Easter holidays.

This year, the organisers of the event are excited to encourage families out into the fresh air to be surrounded by good food, community, and lots of family fun.

“We like to try and organise nice things that bring the community and the traders together and encourage more and more people to come and find us at Wapping Wharf,” Tess Lidstone tells us, the owner of Box-E and one of the organisers of the trail.

“It’s lovely to bring some of these events back after Covid-19. We’ve always done collective events at Wapping Wharf and the pandemic made that harder, but seeing the place alive is really what makes Wapping Wharf sing.”

How does it work, exactly?

​​The Easter egg cut-outs will be decorated and displayed somewhere in the windows of businesses within Wapping Wharf, for children to count and spot as part of the free event.

After adding up how many Easter eggs they’ve spotted, egg-splorers can enter the number online and can vote for their favourite egg. Those who enter the exact number will be in with a chance of winning an Easter prize of a hamper from the traders of Wapping  Wharf.

Ms. Lidstone let us into a secret that they already know of one of the prizes in the hamper, which is a t-shirt of your choice from Frankly. “There will probably be a voucher too, and some nice little other bits,” she smiles.

What can you expect?

Ms. Lidstone tells us they’ve simplified it this year to make it more fun for a wider age range of the family. In previous years you had to gather letters and rearrange them.

“It was a bit too much for some,” she laughs. “If you’re coming with your toddler, you just want to have a bit of fun so there are no elaborate word searches this year!”

You can also expect everything to be clearly marked so that you know what to do. “We’re going to put some posters out too, so everybody’s window will have an egg with a poster next to it explaining the rules,” says Ms. Lidstone.

A big part of why they put the event on is to create a low-cost activity for parents to be able to do with their children during the school holiday. “All parents are thinking about what to do everyday, so hopefully this gives a fun little activity to do that isn’t going to break the bank,” continues Ms. Lidstone.

​​”Children love to hunt for the colourful eggs and adults always enjoy the array of places to shop and have a bite to eat in our lovely harbourside setting.”

Is there a particular order in which to do the trail?

“No, it doesn’t matter at all,” explains Ms. Lidstone. “You can come from any direction, whether that be from Gaol Ferry Steps, the SS Great Britain or from Cargo.

“It’s going to be in the whole of Wapping Wharf so, without giving too much away, make sure you keep your eyes peeled all the way down Gaol Ferry Steps, Cargo 1 and Cargo 2 - but it won’t be every business.”

Details of the competition can be found at: wappingwharf.co.uk/news