South Gloucestershire in the context of "River Avon, Bristol"

Gloucestershire (/ˈɡlɒstərʃər/ GLOST-ər-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠sheer; abbreviated Glos.) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Gloucester.

The county is predominantly rural, with an area of 3,150 square kilometres (1,220 sq mi), and a population of 975,712 in 2024. Gloucester is located in the north-centre of the county, and the spa town of Cheltenham is immediately to the east. Other towns include Tewkesbury in the north, Cirencester in the east, Stroud in the centre, and Yate in the south. The far south of the county, including Filton and Kingswood, is densely populated and forms part of the Bristol built-up area. For local government purposes Gloucestershire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with six districts, and the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire. South Gloucestershire Council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority.

Bristol (/ˈbrɪstəl/ ) is a city and ceremonial county in South West England. It is located on the River Avon, and bordered by Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south with a short coastline on the Bristol Channel to the west. The county includes the majority of the Bristol conurbation, however, the urban area of the city extends into the neighbouring districts of South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset.

The county is almost entirely urbanised and had an estimated population of 494,399 in 2024, making Bristol the most populous city in the region. For local government purposes the county is a unitary authority area governed by Bristol City Council. The council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority, which allows it to collaborate with South Gloucestershire Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The River Avon (/ˈeɪvən/ AY-vən) is a river in the southwest of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is loaned from an ancestor of the Welsh word afon, meaning 'river'.

The Avon rises just north of the village of Acton Turville in South Gloucestershire, before flowing through Wiltshire into Somerset. In its lower reaches from Bath (where it meets the Kennet and Avon Canal) to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth near Bristol, the river is navigable and is known as the Avon Navigation.

A drovers' road, drove road, droveway, or simply a drove, is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were ancient routes of unknown age; others are known to date back to medieval or more recent times.

Yate is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It lies just to the southwest of the Cotswold Hills and is 12 miles (19 kilometres) northeast of Bristol and 12 miles (19 kilometres) from Bath.

Developing from a small village into a town from the 1950s onwards, the 2021 UK census listed Yate's parish population as 23,703. The market town of Chipping Sodbury (population 5,045) is contiguous with Yate to the east. In addition, a large southern section of the built-up area spills over into the parish of Dodington (population 8,206), and as a result, the total population of Yate's urban area is estimated at 35,000.

Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, 6 miles (10 km) north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city.

Filton has large areas of open space which include several playing fields, a golf course and the former Filton Airport (closed in 2012).

Kingswood is a town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire district of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. The town is in the Bristol Built-up Area, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east-northeast of Bristol city centre. In 2023 it had a population of 48,474.

Broadly speaking, Kingswood spans the area from John Cabot Academy in the west to the A4174 ring road in the east. Some areas which are in close proximity to Kingswood, such as Two Mile Hill and St George East (both located within the City of Bristol) and parts of Hanham and Warmley Hill are often considered to be part of Kingswood by locals. The border between South Gloucestershire and the City of Bristol is situated at the western end of Kingswood's High Street, meaning that anything west of this point is no longer Kingswood civil parish, though locals often consider the shops and residential areas that fringe Two Mile Hill to be a continuation of Kingswood neighbourhood.

South Gloucestershire Council is the local authority of South Gloucestershire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, covering an area to the north of the city of Bristol. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Gloucestershire County Council. Since 2017 the council has been a member of the West of England Combined Authority.

The council has been under no overall control since 2023, being run by a Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition. It meets at the Civic Centre in Kingswood and also has offices in Yate.

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA), branded as the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, is a combined authority within the West of England area, consisting of the local authority areas of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset.

The combined authority has its headquarters in the Redcliffe area of Bristol, and is led by the mayor of the West of England. The most recent mayoral election took place on 1 May 2025, when the Labour candidate Helen Godwin was elected on a turnout of 30%.