Lawrence Weston is a post war housing estate in north west Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 between Henbury

Henbury

Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately 5 mi northwest of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle estate Blaise Hamlet and Lawrence Weston to the west...

 and Shirehampton

Shirehampton

Shirehampton, near Avonmouth, at the north-western edge of the city of Bristol, England, is a district of Bristol which originated as a separate village. It retains something of its village feel, having a short identifiable High Street with the parish church situated among shops, and is still...

.

The estate is bounded in the east by the Blaise Castle

Blaise Castle

Blaise Castle is an 18th century mansion house and estate near Henbury in Bristol , England. Blaise Castle was immortalised by being described as "the finest place in England" in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey....

 estate and woods. It is situated at the edge of the Severn flood plain, directly beneath the wooded Kingsweston Hill

Kingsweston Hill

Kingsweston Hill is the site of an Iron Age hill fort near Henbury, Bristol, England.It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.It is near Kings Weston House and also the site of a tower for television broadcasting....

. The industrial complex and port of Avonmouth

Avonmouth

Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...

 is a mile or so west, across the flood plain. Lawrence Weston forms part of the city ward of Kingsweston.

Lawrence Weston was originally a hamlet, a tything of the parish of Henbury. It was transformed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when the estate was built, absorbing both the original hamlet and the neighbouring hamlet of Kings Weston. Originally council owned, much of the housing stock is now in private hands. It is known as "El Dub" or "L' Dub" to its inhabitants. The row of shops in Ridingleaze has been revamped and each shop is now adorned with a mural.

Lawrence Weston is well known locally for its vibrant facilities for young people. There are two youth centres, a BMX

BMX

Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...

 track, a young people's shop called Juicy Blitz and a Youth Inclusion project. It has a community farm and a range of clubs and groups for young people.

Kings Weston House

Kings Weston House

Kings Weston House is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane, Kingsweston, Bristol, England.It was built between 1710 and 1725 was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for Edward Southwell on the site of an earlier Tudor house, and remodelled 1763 by Robert Mylne. A significant architectural feature is...

 and Kings Weston Roman Villa

Kings Weston Roman Villa

Kings Weston Roman Villa is a Roman villa near Lawrence Weston in the north west of Bristol. The villa was discovered during the construction of the Lawrence Weston housing estate in 1947. Two distinct buildings were discovered, the Eastern building was fully excavated , the other lies mostly...

 both lie near the western end of the estate.

Lawrence Weston Moor

Lawrence Weston Moor is a 11.9 hectares Local Nature Reserve

Local Nature Reserve

Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...

 leased from Bristol City Council and managed by the Avon Wildlife Trust

Avon Wildlife Trust

The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon — now Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, in England...

. The drier fields are hay meadows where plants such as Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet

Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as Meadowsweet, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia...

 and Pepper Saxifrage are common. The wetter meadows have Ragged Robin

Ragged Robin

Lychnis flos-cuculi, commonly called Ragged Robin, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is species is native to Europe, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and pastures...

, Marsh Marigold and Creeping Forget-me-not. The fields and old pollarded willows support birds such as Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....

s, Snipe

Snipe

A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...

 Reed

Reed Warbler

The Eurasian Reed Warbler, or just Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....

 and Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

The Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...

s Little Owl

Little Owl

The Little Owl is a bird which is resident in much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Asia east to Korea, and north Africa. It is not native to Great Britain, but was first introduced in 1842, and is now naturalised there...

s and Kestrel

Kestrel

The name kestrel, is given to several different members of the falcon genus, Falco. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects...

s. The rhyne

Rhyne

A rhyne , rhine/rhyne , or reen is a drainage ditch, or canal, used to turn areas of wetland at around sea level into useful pasture....

s are rich in water plants and provide homes for frogs and many insects, such as dragonflies.