Bristol - Best for Last

We thought we'd walked just about everywhere in Bristol. Now that we're winding up our stay here, we found that, actually, we'd saved the best for last, the walk from Clifton to Westbury-on-Trym, about eight miles. Starting at the Clifton Observatory, we headed across Clifton Down with its spectacular cliff-top views of the Avon Gorge and Suspension Bridge. We could see all the way to Avonmouth, where the River Avon meets the Bristol Channel and where most of the modern-day port operations are located. Bridging two areas of the Down was this delightful woodland trail through ancient trees. The morning was crisp and bright, just right for enjoying a walk through the autumnal splendour.

We continued through a pleasant suburban neighbourhood and came across this charming little thatched cottage with what looked like a kangaroo? and a fox on the roof.

At Stoke Bishop, we entered St. Mary Magdalen's Churchyard. We took the easy route through the open gate, but, if it had been locked this ancient stone stile would have provided access.

This nautical gravestone caught our eye. A real anchor and schackle had been embedded in the monument. Curious as to whether we'd found the grave of a noted sailor we looked him up. A google search didn't unearth anything maritime of note for Sir Edward Payson Wills, First Baronet of Hazelwood and Clapton-in-Gordano.

Further along we entered Blaise Castle Estate, 400 acres of parkland which includes Blaise Castle House, a grade II-listed 18th century mansion house, Blaise Castle, a folly built in 1766 and Blaise Hamlet, all now owned by Bristol City Council. The walk through the forested parkland was easy and led us past numerous stone footbridges, crossing a healthy-looking brook and along to an old abandoned water mill. We came out onto a large, manicured lawn and the impressive Blaise Castle House. There is a museum inside, but, we didn't go in.

We left the estate through a turnstile and went a few hundred yards down a very busy road to reach Blaise Hamlet, an incredible oasis completely surrounded by modern Bristol. Once you entered through the gate, it felt like time had stopped at a point about two centuries ago. The tiny village green was surrounded by nine thatched cottages. Everything was very calm and green and there were no views of anything modern. The cottages are occupied by some lucky tenants who probably have to put up with some bad tourist behaviour, but, when the tourists aren't there what a place to live. On our visit, we were the only tourists and it was magical place.

It seemed to be the day for unusual housing finds. Travelling back through the estate parkland we came across a rather unique gamekeeper's hut in the woods. Vacant and mostly a ruin, it was fascinating nonetheless. It looked to have stone walls overlaid with vertically split logs.

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Cardiff

In the past, we've visited quite a few areas of Wales: we've climbed Snowdon, sailed 'The Swellies' (got to love that name) in the Menai Strait, walked on spectacular beaches, visited enchanting Portmeirion and many other coastal villages. What we've seen so far has only whetted our appetite for more though. Wales is a fascinating country with plenty of history and natural beauty. Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, is only a one hour train journey from Bristol and we recently went for a visit, planning to walk the six mile circular footpath around Cardiff Bay.

Alighting at the main train station meant an additional walk of about one km, through some rather depressing housing estates, to the waterfront where things improved greatly. The waterfront area is still under development, but, the scale of the development is quite staggering. They've actually enclosed Cardiff Bay from the sea with a man-made Barrage and lock system. As a result, the Bay is now fresh water. You have to wonder about the environmental impact of this and there was significant controversy at the time (mostly about construction cost, not environmental impact), but, the Bay was probably always brackish anyway as two significant rivers, the Taff and Ely, drain into it. There is a fish ladder so the fish can still bypass the locks and get in and out. For humans, it has become a lovely place for sheltered sailing, walking and cycling.

First on the path was a mixed area of new bars, restaurants and entertainments alongside the old Pierhead Building, built in 1897.

...behind which was the new Wales Millenium Centre.

We then made our way along the barrage, with the sea on one side and the Bay on the other.

Along the way was a large display of picture boards noting that Cardiff was the departure point of Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to be first to the South Pole which resulted in death for him and four of his crewmembers. His expedition ship left from this point on June 15, 1910.

At the end of the Barrage, past the locks, was part of the old harbour complex consisting of a rather nice Custom House, now converted into two restaurants and beside it, in an enviable location, a very beautiful  ruin, just waiting for someone to purchase it and hopefully make a go of it.

Heading back to town, we came across the Cardiff International White Water centre.

If you're not familiar with this type of complex, they consist of a man-made 'river' of white water to learn and practice moving water skills in a controlled environment. The level, force and path of the water can all be adjusted. We got there just at the right time to see groups coming down in all types of craft.

This open canoe came down backwards with a kayaker on guard.

Their second attempt was better.

This raft smashed into the barrier at the top, went vertical and then right over spilling the people into the water. When this picture was snapped, a couple of people were still underneath the raft, not a fun place to be.

This raft executed their transit perfectly which resulted in relaxed-looking big smiles all round!

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Offa's Dyke Path

On yet another glorious autumn day (how much longer can it last?!), we headed out to walk the southernmost ten miles of the Offa's Dyke Path, another of the fifteen National Trails in England and Wales. Starting out from Bristol, we took the bus to Chepstow, the southern terminus. Chepstow is also the start of the Wales Coast Path which incorporates another of the fifteen National Trails, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Chepstow, as detailed in the previous post, was a great destination in its own right, but, our day's walk beckoned and so we quickly headed out of town.

We hadn't given much thought to the rather unusual name of the path, but, it turns out that 'Offa' was actually a person, an Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from 757 to 796. The 'dyke' part of the name refers to an earthen bank and ditch that he ordered built. It was about 150 miles long, 20m wide and 2.5m high and was dug by hand and completed in the eighth century. Nobody really knows why it was built and from the portion we viewed it didn't seem like it would have been very effective to repel Welsh invaders, if that was the intent. The National Trail, 177 miles long, mostly follows the route of the dyke and the current English/Welsh border.

Along the way, views of the River Wye were spectacular...

...as was this view of the ruins of Tintern Abbey, from the Devil's Pulpit lookout.

The trail was varied: from shady forest paths...

...through to imposing country estates.

We were only out for a day's walk, so left the path at the village of Brockweir where we could catch a bus back to Chepstow. Unexpectedly coming across this 14th century monk's house was a great end to another great day out. Later, looking it up online for more historical information, imagine my surprise that you can rent this property as a holiday let! From the website, it looks like they've done a fabulous job on the interior. Have a look, The website states that it is a:

"...truly historic building, which once belonged to the monks of Tintern Abbey, and which is believed to be the oldest house in the Wye Valley, this beautiful property bears witness to the passage of many centuries. Originally a 12th-century monks’ hall with an ‘undercroft’ below for animals, and extended in the 14th-century, Monks Hall has recently been carefully renovated and furnished to provide a romantic, atmospheric place to stay."

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Chepstow, Wales

We were heading out for the day to walk the southernmost ten mile portion of the Offa's Dyke National Trail (more on that in the next post) and started with a bus from Bristol to Chepstow. As the bus wove its way over the Severn River Bridge we seemed to cross the England/Wales border multiple times and we realized we weren't sure which country Chepstow is in. Actually, it's in both. The main town is in Wales, on the western bank of the river Wye, while the adjoining villages on the eastern bank of the river are in England. The town turned out to be a delightful surprise, worthy of a visit in its own right, having been a medieval port with a walled town and the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain.

The dramatic castle ruin is perched on the limestone cliffs overlooking the River Wye.

Seen from the town side, the castle looks more intact.

The riverside area adjacent to the Castle had interesting sights as well. This elegant cast iron bridge was built in 1816.

Across the river we could see the Gloucester Hole, an enlarged natural hole in the limestone cliff opposite. Forming a natural warehouse, cargo used to be unloaded from ships anchored to the wall. It must have been a nightmare for ancient (and modern) boats trying to navigate this river. The tides are the fastest on earth and can rise 13 metres (43 ft.) in just four hours. The tides at Chepstow and the Severn Estuary are second in height only to the Bay of Fundy in Canada. The river 'reverses' and changes direction of flow four times a day.

The town itself was not to be outdone. The town gate and part of the wall is still intact.

The high street was busy with many small specialty shops. Civic pride was evident everywhere. Something we've not seen in any other town are the plaques set into the pavement giving the history of the use and occupancy of the shop it marked, so interesting and what a great idea....

Some of the art installations were also unique...

Many narrow, quaint streets were just waiting to be explored.

We didn't spend as long as we would have liked in Chepstow, our day's walk was beckoning, but, it was such an interesting place we may come back to have a better look!

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West Somerset Railway to Minehead

I don't know about you, but, I'm a sucker for anything steam-powered: boats, cars, farm machinery, but, especially trains. So, when we learned of the close-by West Somerset Railway, well, we just had to visit the longest (twenty miles) steam heritage railway in England. The train runs between the village of Bishops Lydeard and Minehead. There are eight additional stations along the route, all renovated to the period.

It's mostly a volunteer-run organization and you could tell it's a labour of love by the effort put into keeping the various locomotives polished and painted until they gleamed.

Coal-fired (you can just see the fire's glow in front of the engineer below) we chugged away from the station in a cloud of smoke. We sat in the car directly behind the locomotive to be sure we got the full physical effects of the steam powered motion and sound. It was 'interesting' to feel the train lean significantly when the track curved, no modern leveling devices on these trains.

Our journey was a return trip to and from the seaside town of Minehead. The two hour stopover in the town was an added bonus. It was a cold day with a biting wind, but, it's never too cold to have a fish and chip feed on the seafront, although we skipped the traditional whipped ice cream cone crowned with a Cadbury Flake. We had to leave room for the cream tea included as part of our ticket for the return journey.

After the fish and chips, we wandered around the town and were interested to note that it's the start of the South West Coast Path, 700 miles from Minehead to Poole, maybe someday...

Today, we only completed the first 1/4 mile!

The lifeboat station was a fantastic building, but, a very long way from the water.

We wondered how this pub got its name...

...and enjoyed the old houses with October gardens still in bloom.

Back on the train for the return trip, the afternoon cream tea was very generous and tasty, but, unfortunately not very elegantly presented, no white linens and china cups/saucers on this trip. Tea in a paper cup just doesn't taste the same does it? It was still lovely though and made us remember when we used to travel weekly on the Art Deco 'Brighton Belle' Pullman train back in 1971, London to Brighton in one hour. It was a bit rough around the edges then, just a year before it was retired (built 1932, retired 1972), but, what an experience it was for two teenagers! It seemed the height of luxury with white tablecloths, a little lamp on the table and impeccable food service all enjoyed along with the passing scenery. Apparently, there is a project underway to restore the Brighton Belle, not a steam train, but, all-electric and fabulous, let's hope it happens. It will be a train journey not to be missed.

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