A FORMER shopkeeper who is now working on her own documentaries and travel guides has explained why she chose to start with Weston and the surrounding area.

Nicola Bartlett, who lives in Bristol, had a shop until about six months ago, but then decided to launch a YouTube channel to publish her own short documentaries.

She has already featured Weston and Uphill in her works published through the Nicola Explores channel, and said she started with this area to showcase the positive aspects of a place that brings back “a lot of childhood memories.”

(Image: Nicola Explores)

Find her YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/@NicolaExplores

She said: “I have been visiting since I can remember. I have a lot of childhood memories, fond memories of Weston.

“I was a shopkeeper until about six months ago in Bristol, then I started my own travel guides and documentaries.

“Weston was the first place I chose because I love Weston.

“I still love visiting as an adult. There is something for everyone, there’s the arcades, the walk down the Grand Pier.

“There is a lot of negative press about Weston, not so much locally, but nationally, and people often jump on the bandwagon, and they make it as all of it is bad. But there’s a lot more than that.

“Weston has a lot going for it.

“I had positive responses from people watching the videos.

“A lot of people complain about the fact the area changed, but it has always changed.

“Highlight the positives of the town and tell people they should come and visit, and explore.

“A lot of people do not know about Uphill, that’s part of Weston, and the beach and the views are amazing.

“Usually, my guides and documentaries are about 10 minutes long, but the one for Weston is 30 minutes as I have a personal connection.”

In the future, Nicola said she could cover Brean, Berrow, and Burnham-on-Sea in her documentaries.