Walk West Again
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This e-book has been laid out so that each walk starts on a left hand-page, to make printing the individual walks easier. You will have to use the PDF page numbers when you print, rather than the individual page numbers. When viewing on-screen, clicking on a walk below will take you to that walk in the book (pity it can’t take you straight to the start point of the walk itself!) As always, I’d be pleased to hear of any errors in the text or changes to the walks themselves. Happy walking! Walk Page Walks of up to 6 miles 1 East Bristol – Wick Rocks 1 2 West Bristol – The Bluebell Walk 3 3 Bristol – Snuff Mills & Oldbury Court 5 4 South Bristol – Dundry Hill 7 5 The Mendips – Burrington Ham 9 6 Chipping Sodbury – Three Sodburys 11 7 The Cotswolds – Two Hawkesburys 13 8 West Bristol – Blaise & Shirehampton 15 Walks of 6–8 miles 9 South Bristol – The Somerset Coal Canal (part 1) 17 10 South Bristol – The Somerset Coal Canal (part 2) 20 11 The Cotswolds – The Source of the Thames 23 12 Bristol – Conham & The Avon 26 13 The Wye Valley – Tintern 28 14 South Bristol – Backwell & Brockley 31 15 North Somerset – The Gordano Valley 33 Walks of 8–10 miles 16 South Gloucestershire – The Severn Estuary 36 17 Gloucestershire – Westonbirt & Highgrove 38 18 South Cotswolds – Slaughterford 41 19 The Cotswolds – Kingscote & Nailsworth 44 20 Gwent – Llanfoist 47 21 The Cotswolds – Painswick & Haresfield Beacon 50 22 Bath – Kelston & The Avon Valley 53 23 Somerset – The Somerset Levels 55 24 The Mendips – Wells & Wookey Hole 58 25 Gwent – Blaenavon & Blorenge 61 Walks of over 10 miles 26 Wiltshire – Lacock & Bowood 64 27 South Cotswolds – Little Solsbury Hill 67 28 Somerset – Bridgewater Bay 70 29 Wiltshire – The Wessex Ridgeway 72 30 Monmouthshire – Gray Hill 75 PDF file First published 2003 Revised and reprinted 2004 Revised for e-book edition 2011 Updated 2013 Abergavenny Researched and written by Monmouth Geoff Mullett A46 A466 25 20 21 A4043 The contents of this e-book are believed Stroud Cirencester correct at the time of printing and the A419 author has tried to ensure the accuracy A4042 A449 13 A48 19 11 of the maps and route descriptions; Chepstow nevertheless, the author cannot be held A38 17 30 M5 responsible for any errors or omissions A46 A429 or for changes in the details given in this 7 16 A433 Malmesbury e-book or for the consequences of any Newport 6 reliance on the information provided by M4 the same. So there! 8 15 3 1 A420 Chippenham 2 18 12 27 A4 26 29 M5 14 4 A37 22 My thanks go to the volunteers who Bath walked the routes once again for this Weston-s-Mare A370 A38 10 e-book and submitted alterations, 5 A36 suggestions and a wealth of other 9 information that makes this project A371 Radstock worthwhile. 24 A367 In no particular order: 28 Wells A361 A36 Matt Shillaber A350 Allan and Sarah Rogers A39 A39 Shepton Mallet Mallet Don Ford Jean Legge Bridgwater A37 Ken Mill A361 Ken Bishop A303 Judith Massey 23 A378 Phil Lawrence Taunton Chris Bracey Gary Gee Debbie & Kevin Beazer Matthew Cole & Kate Stewart David Price Wick Rocks Walk 1 Wick Rocks Start Cross House Inn, Doynton (ST 719740). Distance 4 miles / 6.4km. Refreshments Pub at start/end of walk. Getting there A420 east to Wick, turning left on minor road signed Doynton. In the village, turn left at the Cross House Inn, parking at the roadside or in the pub car park, if permission is given. Wick RocksWick A lovely, easy ramble across fields and along riverbanks, with an interesting excursion through a working quarry (optional diversion if blasting is in progress!). One climb that affords dramatic views across the river, and some short stretches on country lanes. A good morning walk before Wick lunch at the pub, or an evening stroll with refreshment at the end. The circuit should take 1.5 to 2 hours. A420 Bristol From the Cross House Inn, walk the few paces to the road junction and turn right. fence of the left boundary and climb a pair of stiles sporting the ‘Monarch’s Way’ Follow the road for a short distance to reach a footpath sign on the right and enter symbol. Keep left of the thicket then walk up the centre of the field aiming for the field. There are clear paths ahead and left, but you need to cross the field to the the left end of the hedge on the far side. In the next field, follow the right boundary lower opposite corner, so walk diagonally left, eventually picking up the hedge and to reach a stile climb over and go ahead without deviation, passing waymark signs 1 Walk 1 Wick Rocks at the field corner, crossing another field and stile, then continuing onward to reach the quarry boundary fence. Follow it left to the road where you turn right. Walk down the road with care to the quarry entrance on the right and climb the stile into the quarry premises. Care is needed here, you have right of way but you can be delayed if blasting is in progress. Follow the clear footpath signs ahead to the wooden screening on the left of the quarry office. Pass through the screen and continue on, keeping to the right of the cream building. At the end of the walkway climb the drive ahead passing a black oil tank on your left and using the marked footpath between a wooden fence and an Armco barrier. At the top of the rise go straight ahead to cross a stile beside a warning sign and follow the narrow footpath between two fences to a stile giving access to a meadow. (If blasting is in progress, you may wish to avoid the area altogether, in which case continue down the road to reach the A420, turn right and follow the road to reach Boyd Bridge. Go right before the bridge and walk along the lane to .) Beyond the quarry, walk down the meadow keeping left to climb a further stile then walk down to the left side of the farm buildings to a lane. Walk right here for a short distance, then go through a kissing gate on the left. Walk with the hedge initially on your left for a short distance, then continue in the same direction across the field, climbing a stile and continuing to reach another in the bottom left corner. Cross to a footbridge, then go right along a lane to a road . Wick quarry, viewed from Rock Road Turn right and follow the road into the Golden Valley Nature Reserve, with the River Boyd on your on your left, eventually crossing it via a bridge. On the far side, ignore through and continue along the path to a lane with cottages, where you bear left to the turning immediately right, but follow the path ahead that climbs gently up to the reach a road . right, signposted the ‘Ravens Rock Trail’. Turn right, following the tarmac to a T-junction where you go right, signposted Continue on this broad path to reach a sharp left turn, signed 'Easy Access'. Take this, Doynton. In a few yards, the road descends left, but you go ahead along a bridleway, (if you miss it, you will reach a clearing with disused quarry workings) and in a short losing height and crossing the river at the pretty Cleeve Bridge . Now take a path distance go through the kissing gate on the right. Climb to the top of the meadow, left to a kising gate, then go half-right, climbing to the far corner of the pasture to keeping right, then follow the right boundary to another set of gates. Pass through the stile crossed on your outward route . Cross the stile and go ahead keeping to and descend to a level area, then walk ahead with care to the cliff edge where you the left boundary to reach the next field. Walk down the centre of this field, veering will enjoy dramatic views over the quarry beyond the river, far below . left to pass the thicket near the bottom left corner. Cross a pair of stiles ahead (ignoring one on the left), then go ahead towards the backs of the cottages where, The valley below is known as The Golden Valley, taking its name from the ochre extraction that by a patch of old stone wall, you go through a kissing gate and walk between the took place on the site. It is an important area for nature conservation as the site contains woodland, cottages to a gate, then onto the road. Turn right to reach the Cross House Inn. grassland and numerous rock faces, as well as the river and its banks. Doynton at one time boasted a brewery, which was situated in Toghill Lane. This is now a Now retrace your steps and return through the gate, then go right and ignoring the private house, as is the ‘Three Horseshoes’ a pub long-closed, that you now pass on your left. gate in the corner, follow the field edge along the stone wall to further gates. Go 2 The Bluebell Walk Portbury To M5 Walk 2 The Bluebell Walk Start Portbury, corner of Station Road and Clapton Road (ST 498752). Distance 3.5 miles / 5.6km. Refreshments Pub at end of walk. Getting there Portbury is reached from junction 19 on the M5, or A369 from Bristol.