From its start as a sketch on a plane, to the critics’ favourite it is today
06:00, 27 Jun 2026
The first Cargo 2 shipping containers arrive on site at Wapping Wharf almost 10 years ago(Image: Michael Lloyd)
Bristol’s iconic shipping container village is celebrating a massive milestone this summer – but its famous temporary home is officially living on borrowed time.
Wapping Wharf, famously dubbed the ‘Bristol Riviera’ by critic and MasterChef host Grace Dent, turns 10 this year. To celebrate a decade of transforming the rubble-strewn dockside into a thriving hub of 50 independent businesses, the community is throwing a massive, free public party on July 3.
Earlier this year, developers Umberslade secured long-awaited planning consent for the final phases of development, to complete the neighbourhood at Wapping Wharf. It will see the iconic bright blue shipping containers of Cargo replaced with permanent, brick-and-mortar buildings.
While rising construction costs mean traders will remain in their temporary container homes until at least 2028, the neighborhood is facing its biggest shift yet. As Wapping Wharf prepares for its next chapter, the people who built its reputation say its unique community spirit is exactly what will keep it alive.
(Image: AHR)
From a New York sketchbook to a Bristol powerhouse
The story of Wapping Wharf’s Cargo containers began a decade ago on a flight back from New York.
After spotting independent market stalls in the Meatpacking District and a lone shipping container serving coffee on the famous Highline walk, developer Stuart Hatton sketched a rough horseshoe layout on the back of a napkin. That sketch became Cargo 1.
“We knew from the start that we wanted to create something here that truly reflected Bristol and this dockside location, which would set it apart from the identikit developments up and down the country,” says Stuart Hatton, managing director of Umberslade.
“Bristol is known for its independent streak – it’s a place that does things its own way – and we wanted to make the most of this. To be able to focus on smaller independent businesses who showed promise but didn’t necessarily have strong financial backing, we decided to hold onto the buildings ourselves and share the risk with them.”
Ten years later, the gamble has paid off so spectacularly that the hub now boasts a permanent waiting list of businesses trying to get in.
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Walking around Wapping Wharf, come rain or shine, if you were to ask any of the businesses here what they love most about being a part of this shipping container location, they would tell you that the community vibe between neighbouring businesses would likely top the list.
But it’s become more apparent that more and more newer businesses and concepts are using the now not-so-novelty shipping containers to test out their ideas on the public. And while some stick around for years, many use the Cargo blocks as a platform to build up their customer base and get their name out there, before going on to open more sites – and bricks and mortar locations – elsewhere in Bristol.
Katie Kuntapin who works at Cha and Chill, a premium Asian-inspired bubble tea shop, told BristolLive: “I’m very happy to be here at Wapping Wharf. We started the business two years ago and it was definitely the best decision to come here.
“Most of the businesses here are small independents and so we’re happy to be here together and support each other. It’s pet friendly, family friendly – most of our target customers here are families because we’re close to the M Shed. So it’s nice to be a part of.”
Katie Kuntapin of Cha & Chill in one of Wapping Wharf’s Cargo shipping containers(Image: Paul Gillis/Reach Plc)
Meanwhile, others have seen this location on the waterfront as being an ideal spot to run a small business, which may elsewhere have seen closure before its time – like on our present day high streets.
With nearby Park Street having seen several closures of vintage fashion shops in recent years, Kate Seymour, who runs vintage shop Something Elsie, said: “It’s been really great to be down here [at Cargo, Wapping Wharf]. It’s a really lovely destination, a really great community.
“I have been here for seven years and so have had loads of neighbours – some wonderful businesses that have come and gone, and some that are still here, and everyone just gets on really well.
“The atmosphere is great, especially in the summer. Summer days are the best days where everybody is out having drinks and food and the vibe is just really nice. Not so good on the rainy days, but that’s to be expected these days I think, and the sunny days and location make up for that.”
Elsewhere, one key example of how an extremely popular concept, which was born from appearances at festivals from the back of a truck, is famed local business Gurt Wings, which opened in February 2025.
Kate Seymour who runs Everything Elsie at Wapping Wharf’s Cargo in Bristol(Image: Paul Gillis/Reach Plc)
Aidan Grundy, who works at Gurt Wings, said: “I’ve been with the company now for about a year and a half and it’s been absolutely fantastic. There’s a real community feel down on ‘The Wharf’, and everybody’s in it together. We all look out for each other.
“We’ve got some regular customers now, and it has been a joy to be here to be honest. It’s definitely one of my favourite jobs I’ve ever had in hospitality.
“It’s always better, in my opinion, to support small local businesses rather than chains, so to have so many independent businesses here in one place is great. You get a more authentic customer service and more authentic product as well because everything stems from somebody in a garage or a truck or something like that as a product that they want to perfect and then share with the world – and you get that here.”
The looming end of the shipping container era has sparked debate among visitors, with some wondering if stripping away the industrial aesthetic will dilute the magic that made Wapping Wharf a tourist landmark.
However, shop owners remain optimistic about moving into permanent bases, and Mr Hatton has said that the “indie-first” curation will remain unchanged.
With at least two years left before the bulldozers arrive, developers are urging Bristolians to flock to the waterfront and keep supporting the grassroots businesses that put the area on the map.