NEW TITLE IN THE CHILDREN'S BRISTOL SERIES!
JUST PUBLISHED - a great new book in the Children's Bristol Series. This book of family walks in and around Bristol, is in the shops now, just in time for the Easter holidays. The walks are presented in a very user-friendly way with a Factfile - giving distance, approximate length of walk, facilities - Directions, Background information and the Walk itself.
24 Family Walks in and around Bristol
by Lesley Turney
24 walks in and around Bristol, devised specifically for families of all ages. All are located within easy distance of Bristol and vary in length and difficulty, from the toddler and buggie-friendly stretches of the Bristol-Bath Cycle and Walkway to the stiffish ascent of Cadbury camp.
For every copy sold, we are donating a royalty to Children's Hospice South West.
[112pp, with b/w photographs, maps - paperback, £6.95] PUBLISHED
Here's a sample of one of the walks from the book.
Brean Down Walk
Fact file
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Distance
About 5km (three miles).
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Walking time
Allow two to three hours.
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Suitability
Perfect for children old enough to walk the whole way themselves. The fort adds incentive and interest.
Not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchair users.
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Facilities
There´s a National Trust car park at the foot of the Down, together with a café, toilets and a free exhibition about the history and wildlife of the area. There are good, clean beaches at Brean and Berrow to the South of the Down within easy reach if you wanted to make the walk part of a family day out. There are also plenty of family–friendly pubs and restaurants in and around Brean.
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! Warning !
The cliffs are dangerous, according to the signs at the bottom of the Down, around one dog a month is lost over the edge so it´s safest to keep yours on a lead.
Getting There
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Road
Brean Down, which is owned and managed by the National Trust, is about eight miles from the M5, Junction 22. If you´re coming from Weston–super–Mare, follow the signs to the hospital, then signs to Brean. It´s a very winding and convoluted lane, but you will get there in the end.
- Rail
The closest station is Highbridge which is just over eight miles away.
- Bus
Take the First 112 Highbridge–Weston–super–Mare, which passes close to both Highbridge and Weston–super–Mare stations. The bus stop at Brean is about 3km (1¾ miles) from Brean Down.
The Walk
This is a lovely walk around one of the most interesting landmarks of the Somerset coastline with plenty of features to explore and things to see.
Brean Down is the huge, limestone hill which juts out into
the Bristol Channel just south of Weston–super–Mare. It is
the last part of the chain of the Mendip Hills and was
formed about 300 million years ago.
The Down reaches 100 metres above sea level at its highest point and has spectacular views over Weston, the Somerset levels and across the channel to the islands of Steep Holm, Flat Holm and over to South Wales.
Brean Down has been home to animals and people for around 10,000 years. Remains of mammoths and woolly rhinoceros have been found, as well as Stone Age burial mounds and a temple. It´s easy to imagine what it must have been like living on the rock in the old days, because there are so few modern features up there.
Nowadays, the most impressive architectural feature is what´s left of the fort, originally built to protect the Bristol Channel in 1865. The fort´s history and some entertaining anecdotes can be found on the information boards and children and adults are welcome to explore the old buildings at the far tip of the Down. Volunteers open the officers´ quarters and the gun magazines for visitors most Sunday afternoons in–between Easter and the end of September.
The wildlife is impressive. It is a great place to watch birds, especially when the tide goes out and oystercatchers, redshanks, and others converge to feast on the mudflats. More entertaining for younger children are the wild and woolly goats which jump along the cliff edges.
The Route
From the car park, walk around the café and follow the path up to the steep steps which climb up the Down. This is a challenging climb! Once at the top, you´ll need to stop to catch your breath and enjoy the views. Look out for a huge arrow painted on to the top of the hillside. During the Second World War, this arrow directed bomber planes to the practice range on the beach below.
Turn right at the top, and then left, taking the lower,
better defined track along the northern side of the down.
The views across the bay to Weston–super–Mare are
breathtaking, no matter what the weather. The sea here
has the second largest tidal movement in the world. The
distance between high water and low water can be as much
as three quarters of a mile (1.2km). The current at the
tip of Brean Down is amazingly strong (about four knots).
The track leads past the site of what was to be a deep–water harbour at Brean Down. In the 1860´s, foundation stones for a pier were laid, but the project was later abandoned after a fierce storm. These North Cliffs are a good spot for butterfly and bird watching.
Soon you reach Brean Fort, built in 1870 to protect the channel
from French invaders (the French just having constructed a
terrifying new kind of battleship). The Fort had seven big
guns and was, incredibly, occupied by around 20 men and their
families. It must have been very cosy! During the Second World
War the fort was re–armed with bigger, better guns which had
the capacity to sink ships even at the other side of the channel.
It´s well worth stopping to explore the fort, and to discover
its connection with the bouncing bomb.
With your back to the fort, take the right hand path across the
grass back in the direction of the coast. Another good spot for
soaking up the seascape, this is where Guglielmo Marconi set a
new distance record for wireless transmissions to Lavernock Point
in Wales in 1897. To your right are the remains of some ancient
field systems.
It´s a bit of a climb up to the highest point of the Down, more than 100 metres above sea level. To your right are the South Cliffs, covered with low–growing vegetation which has to cope with winds that can be quite strong even on a warm day. Look out for Peregrine falcons and kestrels hunting on the Down.
As you head back along the southern side, enjoy the spectacular views of the coastline. This is where you´ll see the wild goats hopping from outcrop to outcrop in a quite amazing manner. At the second highest point of the Down, you pass the spot where the Romans built a small temple in a site perfectly suited to enjoy sunset.
You can either go back down the steps or follow the path on down, past the brick gun emplacements used to provide training for soldiers in the Second World War (using targets in Weston bay), and the remains of the Iron Age hill–fort built to defend the entrance to the River Axe. This leads you round to a gentle walk down to a gate at the bottom of the hill, and the path back to the café to enjoy a mug of tea or an ice–cream (or both). After this, we recommend a picnic on Brean´s beautiful, sandy beach.