As 2022 draws to a close, it's time for the 12th edition of my annual speciality coffee and food awards, where I share my favourite coffee shops and eateries from among all of those that I visited for the first time this year. Over the past few years, I've tweaked the geographical boundaries of some awards to reflect my travel schedule, which has changed somewhat as a result of COVID.

I've known for some time that I was long overdue a return visit to Bristol, a city that I've loved each time I've been and yet, like many places in the UK, I don't get to often enough. In particular, the city's specialty coffee scene has changed a huge amount since I was last there (whisper it) a decade ago. A three-day trip over the Easter weekend wasn't enough time — when is it? — but the sunny weather was perfect for coffee-shop-hopping and I managed to visit 12 coffee spots.

When reviewing the thousands of photos I have taken in 2012, I was a little surprised by how few contenders there were for the top five leaps of the year. I managed not to appear in a single leap shot in my first trip to New York (too hot), my trip to Paris (too cold) or my trip to Istanbul (leap ennui, I think). Nonetheless, I did pick out my five favourite leaping photos of the year.

The train prices to Paris and even Edinburgh were too expensive this week and so I ended up in Bristol for a mini-city-break. The last time I went to Bristol was in 2001 on a university open day and I liked the place enough to make it my safety choice, but looking back, all I really remember of that day is my trip to TopShop. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the city offered several nice-looking independent coffee bars and even a couple of secret speakeasy cocktail bars — my main requirements for any holiday destination — and I was impressed. Here are some of my recommendations.


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