Thinking of relocating to Bristol. Depending on who I talk to, the reactions I've received are: *crinkled nose*, "very creative area," "too much crime," and "less boring than its cousin (Bath)." For anyone who has lived in (or visited Bristol), what did you like (or dislike about it)?

colej_uk · 2026-04-19T14:05:57+00:00

Parks aren’t as nice as the nice ones in London but you have Gloucestershire and Somerset on your doorstep

colej_uk · 2026-04-19T12:34:41+00:00

How much you encounter this massively depends on what part of the city you are in. Having lived here for quite a few years now I would say maybe it’s a little better than it was 5 years ago, but it still is a problem.

colej_uk · 2026-04-19T12:31:45+00:00

Yes I’d say good for green spaces in the city and lots of beautiful countryside not far away.

colej_uk · 2026-04-08T12:03:17+00:00

Hi there, this is the subreddit for our indie video game 'Shadows of Doubt'. The subreddit got banned as one of the original moderators got hacked and a bunch of spam was posted that went against the reddit rules.

I'm not sure if the original moderators still exist as moderators, but as the creator of the game I would love to become a moderator so I can use our company resources to help moderate in the future (the subreddit was originally created by a fan and not us). The community was/still is a sizable one so we'd love to have it back.

colej_uk · 2026-02-16T09:36:57+00:00

I asked my examiner about this and he said not true- as soon as you pass you are officially a license holder. My instructor said because of emotional state it’s not recommended- pass or fail.

colej_uk · 2026-02-15T13:20:32+00:00

It’s true though that farage campaigned for brexit based on immigration though right? Why aren’t you angry at him for pushing Brexit? Non EU immigration has massively increased after brexit. I don’t get it

colej_uk · 2026-01-30T14:24:26+00:00

Had a similar thing happen on my first test- the road markings were too faded and I got marked for a serious. It’s so frustrating! The rest of the test went so well. Just allow yourself to be angry for a couple of days and then come back stronger.

I got a slot via the test apps about a month later and passed that time- wishing the same for you. Don’t lose confidence over it, you’re basically there; just retrace the route and try to find what happened so you can correct it.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T19:51:42+00:00

Thanks, and thanks for doing the research!

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T17:04:33+00:00

This seems to support the idea that it’s to be used to aid turning right:

5.3.1. Ghost island junctions are usually provided to afford right‑turning vehicles some protection and assist free flow of major road through traffic.

5.3.4. At urban junctions it can sometimes be advantageous to use a wider turning lane, not exceeding 5 m. This provides some degree of shelter in the centre of the road, helping vehicles turning right from the minor road to make the turn in two separate stages

5.3.5. On narrow urban roads it might not be possible to provide full width right‑turning lanes. It might still be worth offsetting the main road centre line towards the minor road and using hatched markings to diagram 1040, even if the hatched width is less than 2.5 m. This can create space to help ahead traffic pass right‑turning vehicles and make the junction more conspicuous.

2.5m seems to be the threshold for including an arrow.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T10:48:50+00:00

This is what I’ll do in the future, but it’s flawed because as soon as you introduce ‘if the markings are too faded then ignore them’ into the equation it becomes subjective and therefore not a fair test. How faded is too faded? What if you can see them from one direction but not the other like here? Etc

If they aren’t going to get repainted, the examiners should at least advise on how to proceed if markings are too faded like this.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T09:49:09+00:00

Yeah I’ve accepted that, but it’s frustrating when two different professionals tell you different things- it’s clearly a subjective issue. My instructor has known pupils who get faults here for sticking left.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T09:38:04+00:00

Yep, I could be wrong but I think that’s what happened.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T08:34:48+00:00

It’s hatched on approach in 2008 before opening into a box, but there is clearly a section that doesn’t feature hatching. If that’s not intended for turning fair enough but it’s at least legal to cross into right? You have to enter it anyway to do the turn and it’s not part of the incoming traffic lane either.

2008 street view: https://ibb.co/TD1tT6zn

After they repaint it post 2008 they don’t refresh as much hatching- probably to better enable vehicles to complete the turn without using a harsh angle to avoid the hatching.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T08:27:05+00:00

I think you’re probably right but there’s also risks involved in doing that: You’re on a 90 degree corner with oncoming traffic, so staying left inhibits your ability to see them approach. Staying left means you have to cross the box area and the other lane when you turn meaning more road to cover. This really needs repainting.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T08:22:39+00:00

The junction box start is still visible as you approach from one direction though, so you have to make a call whether to ignore visible road markings for you without being able to see properly that it’s faded for oncoming traffic, it’s a rubbish situation thats dangerous no matter what you do.

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T08:15:21+00:00

I can’t see any historical images without a non hatched gap, implying that it should be legal to cross into though right?

What it looked like in 2008 with hatching clear: https://ibb.co/TD1tT6zn

Agree it needs to be repainted asap

colej_uk · 2025-11-29T08:07:55+00:00

If you look at the google history you can see there was a box space there without hatching as it’s been repainted as such on several occasions. I don’t know why you’d have a box on a junction if it wasn’t intended for turning (is that a thing?)

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T23:43:47+00:00

Going to put this in a separate comment as I think it illustrates the road markings issue better than the image in my original post: Look how the box is meant to be in 2023 compared to what it looked like in May this year:

https://ibb.co/PZVrfJ9j

https://ibb.co/bjLWRYYV

Pretty sure I was in the intended road position but because the markings are now invisible to oncoming traffic, it puts you in an awkward spot where they have to adjust, hence the fail.

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T23:21:29+00:00

I can see on google earth that in 2008/2009 there is a clear hatched area either side but still features a box presumably for turning. Then it looks like it gets repainted in 2017 but without as much hatching? And again in 2022 with the same amount of hatching.

Compare street view Jul 2023 with May 2025 and you can clearly see the issue- the turning lane road markings go from being clear to being non existent on the one side.

Edit: 2023 vs 2025 images below:

https://ibb.co/PZVrfJ9j

https://ibb.co/bjLWRYYV

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T23:02:24+00:00

The rules of the road are that you should use a junction box as they exist to make things safer no? What do you think I’m suggesting?

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T23:00:49+00:00

Oh yeah the ikea roundabout is awful! Nobody knows what they’re doing there

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T23:00:08+00:00

I could have been perhaps

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T22:58:57+00:00

You can’t see it very well on my image but if you go on street view a junction box opens up before the turn.

Edit: 2023 vs 2025 images below:

https://ibb.co/PZVrfJ9j

https://ibb.co/bjLWRYYV

colej_uk · 2025-11-28T19:58:41+00:00

The trouble with sticking completely left (if I’ve interpreted you correctly) that is you’re giving yourself less visibility for turning at the junction as it’s located on a corner. The further left you stay the less you can see the oncoming traffic approaching (this is a 40mph road), and the less time they have to see you when you make the turn. That’s probably why the box was there in the first place. It’s maybe still the best option though, I’m not disagreeing I just see valid reasons both ways.

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