Bristol has a lot of great areas where there are a number of charity shops in close quarters- making excellent places for treasure hunting!
But it can help to know where to look and what type of shops to look in. That’s what we’re aiming to do with this guide: we go through an overview of charity shops- including the cheapest and priciest, the best charity shops for clothes, books and furniture, and a run through each area and its unique selling points!
Overview of charity shopping in Bristol
The cheapest charity shops tend to be scope, children’s air ambulance, Barnardos and often other, lesser-known charities. These tend to be more likely to have bargain buckets and undiscovered excellent items.
More expensive charity shops are often st. Peters hospice, Penny Brohn, cancer research and shelter. Some of these, however, particularly in more expensive areas such as Clifton village and Clifton triangle are more beautifully curated- making them a really lovely shopping experience as quite possibly worth the slightly higher prices.
Best charity shops for clothes, books and furniture
The best charity shops areas for clothes are East street, Gloucester road, Cotham hill, North street and Fishponds.
The best charity shops for books are Oxfam on Clifton triangle and Cotham hill. Further up Gloucester road, you’ll also find The Amnesty Bookshop.
The best places for furniture are the British heart foundation in Broadmead, The Sofa Project in Old Market, Gloucester road for odd finds and British heart foundations furniture and electricals in Kingswood.
Guide to Bristol Charity shops by area
This table- shows the best and cheapest areas for charity shopping for clothes, books and furniture!
| Area | # Shops | Prices | Offering |
| East Street | 4 | £ | Clothes: Best deals- bargain bins and cheap options |
| Gloucester Road | 9 | ££ | Furniture and clothes: good balance of quality and price |
| Cotham Hill | 5 | ££ | Clothes and books: High-quality options |
| North Street | 4 | ££ | Clothes: Good balance of quality and price |
| Fishponds | 6 | £ | Clothes: Ok stuff, good prices- also furniture just off the high street |
| Clifton Village | 4 | £££ | Clothes: High-quality items |
| Clifton Triangle | 6 | £££ | Books and clothes: Some high-quality items |
| Kingswood | 6 | ££ | Clothes+Furniture: slightly cheaper and fine quality |
| Broadmead | 1 | ££ | Furniture (British heart foundation) |
| Old Market | 1 | £££ | Furniture (Sofa project) |
Charity shops on East Street
East street is one area of Bristol where there are still some very low-priced shops- with a standing potential to find some gems within the jumble. Scope is a great one for a bargain- and for niknaks.
Charity shops on Gloucester Road
Gloucester road has a hoard of charity shops- and that means a real mix of finding including those that are more curated and less curated. There’s also a mix of clothes shops and furniture bits and pieces. Really these are a nice bunch of shops, with different ranges and styles. Also a mix of prices, but some great find for a bargain.
Charity shops on Cotham Hill
There are a few lovely shops on Cotham hill including an oxfam bookshop. Since this is a well-off area, although they are not the cheapest shops, there are some nice quality pieces. Also generally well-curated shops.
Charity shops in Southville
North street, in southville, has 4 good charity shops, 3 are door to door and the other just a couple of streets down. These are average in price with some nice pieces- mainly clothes, although cats protection have a good little craft section too.
Fishponds charity shops
Fishponds have a selection of standard charity shops on their high street with generally lower prices than in town, but still some good finds. Fishponds high street is mainly good for clothes, though nearby- off the main street is a fairly well-stocked furniture charity shop.
There’s a Barnardos, St Peters Hospice (with another branch off the main street), Cancer Research and Sue Ryder. Bristol cardiac support group and the second peters hospice are off the main road.
Clifton Village charity shops
Clifton village is the most expensive district in Bristol- it is a gorgeous place to mooch around and also has quite a few charity shops. These tend to be more curated selections and for a slightly higher price than in other areas of Bristol, you can find some really high-quality clothing. Well worth a browse.
Clifton Triangle charity shops
On Clifton triangle, you’ll find a cancer research, Penny Brohn, and Oxfam bookshop. Penny Brohn have almost boutique-style curated selections of high-quality clothing and also sells a selection of gift-type items. Cancer research is a more standard charity shop style- but has a great range- and, being a nice area, some great finds.
Kingswood Charity shops
Kingswood has a mixed bag of charity shops- it benefits from being slightly out of town- so there is generally a good range at slightly lower prices. Most notable is the British heart foundation furniture and electricals store.
Broadmead
Broadmead is the main shopping district of Bristol, and is included here mainly for the large British Heart Foundation second-hand furniture store. These shops are not the cheapest furniture finds, but they do have good quality items and the larger infrastructure means they offer delivery services too which can be very handy.
Old Market Charity shops
Old market has only one big charity shop- but is included because it’s a good place to find furniture. The Sofa projects stocks a nice range of second-hand sofas, coffee tables, shelving units and other options.
We hope this guide was useful! we wrote it together with help from our friend who works as a vintage clothes retailer, and spends a lot of her time rummaging the stacks for hidden gems.