Frome Valley Walkway Booklet

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0117 952 2141. issue please contact: would like to raise an If you have ideas or the river. at different venues along agencies meets regularly groups, parish councils and other recreation and wildlife. A forum of local the Frome Valley for relaxation, committed to promoting and improving The ‘Friends of the River Frome’ is South Gloucestershire Council Tel 01454 863763 Designed by Graphics & Mapping P rinted on recycled paper THE RIVER FROME

FRIENDS OF

W FRO

Cotswold Hills Hills Cotswold the to Bristol of from the centre Frome River the Following A M L E

W A

A L E

Y Y 0 W 0 0 0 Miles Kilometres

Miles Kilometres FRO

A M L

PH E T T P P

W A

A L E Y Y P Other Bus Stops Bristol City Centre F P P Leisure Centres P Railway Staion Cliff/quarry P Urban areas W Railway Line R Motorway Local Paths P F Key fo Key requent bus service to/from rome Valley Walkway arking ublic Telephone ublic Toilets ublic Houses ublic open space\countryside romoted Recreational paths oad oodland 0.25 0.25 r Route Maps 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Beach Severn N Ashton Long W Leigh oods R M 4 9 I A V BRISTOL 403 Henbury

Pilning E Clifton Jcn17 R

M A Aust S 4 4 01

Jcn 21 E

Almondsbury V M

5 M Patchway

4 E 8 Jcn16 Filton R -on-Severn Littleton

Knowle N

A38 Olveston Tockington Oldbury-on-Severn

Stoke Bradley

Alveston

A 4

Jcn15 1

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Thornbury 7

Easton

Jcn 20

Jcn 1 4

Gifford Stoke

M 4

Staple

Kingswood A Willsbridge Green Longwell

Mangotsfield 4 2

Downend 0 Hill Oldland A Rangeworthy Heath Cadbury 43

2 Acton Iron Under construction M Falfield

Warmley

A 5

1 A

Tytherington

Bitton

7 3

4 8 3

Heath Coalpit 1

Siston 4 Jcn 14 3

2 Tortworth Swineford Cromhall Pucklechurch Cheyney Upton Wick Yate Charfield Dyrham

A Doynton Hinton 4 M4

C Sodbury Chipping O T Wickwar A4S6 Hawkesbury Recreational Path Network Horton

W Hawkesbury Ashton Cold O A Jcn 18 2 Miles Kilometres 4 Upton L Sodbury Old 2 1 0 D Community Forest Path Avon Walkway The Jubilee Way Railway Path The Bristol & Bath Frome Valley Walkway The Severn Way Monarch’s Way The Cotswold Way Marshfield Tormarton 1 A 4 H 6 0 0 I L 12 Badminton L A 4 1 S 3 3 3

W FRO • • • • • • • • • • • • times all at Code Please follow Country the

A M L E

Make no no Make ca Take p wildlife, Protect clean water keep Help yo Take alone machinery cropsLeave and livestock, walls and hedges fences, U to Keep d Keep gates all Fasten a Guard i respect Enjoy the countryside -

W A

se gates to and stiles cross

A L E Y Y ogs under control Country Code Country The re on coun on re ur litter home

antrs ffire gainst risk of public paths public ts life and work unnecessary noise unnecessary lants and trees try roadstry V E AL M L O E

Y The Frome Valley R F W Y Walkway A A L K W

Castle Park, Bristol

he Frome Valley Walkway is a 29km (18 mile), Tlong path which follows the River Frome from the River Avon in the centre of Bristol to the Cotswold Hills in South Gloucestershire. The route links with the Cotswold Way National Trail at one end and the Avon Walkway at the other, as well as connecting with a number of other well established recreational routes, notably, the Jubilee Way, the Monarch’s Way and the Community Forest Path. The path passes through a variety of landscapes including open countryside and meadows in South Gloucestershire, the historic town of Chipping Sodbury,wooded valleys south of Winterbourne Down, the pretty village of Frenchay and landscaped parks in Bristol including Oldbury Court estate, originally an old hunting lodge within the Royal Forest of Kingswood. In Bristol the route runs through city parks and along pavements. Some sections of the River Frome are culverted near to the City Centre, including the point where it enters the River Avon near Castle Park. V V E AL E AL M L M L O E O E

Y History of the Y Walking in the R R

F F W W Y River Frome Y Frome Valley A A A A L K W L K W

Quarrymen’s Cottages at Snuff Mills The Cotswolds from Chipping Sodbury

he name Frome is derived from Anglo-Saxon he Frome Valley Walkway provides a great T‘Frum” meaning rapid or vigorous. The social Topportunity for everybody to enjoy the local & economic history of the local area along the path parks and woodlands in Bristol and to explore the is well documented, which passes a number of open countryside in South Gloucestershire. The medieval churches, old quarries, mines and mills. path follows the River Frome, as it gently winds its Bristol, meaning ‘Bridge Tow n’, was an important way, creating an easy and level walking route for trading centre by 1000AD and during the Middle much of its length. The route in Bristol, between Ages became prosperous from the increase in Castle Park and Frenchay Bridge, mostly follows imports & exports. The marches along the Frome & off-road tarmac paths close to the river or the Avon were drained and reclaimed as the City pavements for short sections close to the City.The grew,and industries expanded to supply goods for middle section of the route, extending out from the the colonial and slave trades. The ships grew larger edge of the City between Frenchay and Winterbourne and required deeper waters leading to a decline on Down, wanders through riverside woodlands and the wharfs of the Frome. Upstream a number of runs over unsurfaced and surfaced paths, which mill operated industries existed and leisure include the occasional gate, stile and bridge. The activities such as boating & fishing were popular. upper section of the walkway runs through open Originally, there were 13 one arch bridges along the countryside on field footpaths, narrow in places, city section of the Frome, but these were all with regular stiles.The path officially ends in Old destroyed by the gradual covering over of the river Sodbury, at the foot of the Cotswold Hills, although in the 18th & 19th centuries and by the M32 motor- continuing on to Tormarton along the Cotswold way construction. Way you pass the source of the Frome and there are spectacular views from the top of the escarpment. V E AL M L O E ristol Castle, around which

F the City grew,originally W B Y A A stood on what is now Castle L K W Park.The Castle was surrounded by a moat created by the Avon and the Frome. The Old Fox PH Inn The River Frome runs down the centre of Lwr. River Street under what is now the car park. Ashley Rd Three PH Blackbirds Stapleton Road This long wide road used to be a ropewalk Railway Station where long ropes were spun. The Quaker St. Pauls A Meeting House and the New Street flats stand Roundabout 43 20 on the site of what was possibly Britain’s first Ea s to workhouse, established by Bristol Quakers n W a in 1698. M32 y The now busy St. Paul’s Roundabout Lebeqs Tavern used to be the site of Britain’s first successful PH commercial brass factory, established by Quakers in 1702. Slag from this industry was

used in building blocks and can be seen in a Goodhind Street number of structures, including the walls Engineers Arms alongside the river. Riverside PH Park

Stapleton Road

Bond Street PH Newfoundland Street White Elephant ennywell Rd P

P enn St. orsefair e H ellington RoadP t. Th W S b River Street m Riverside Park a St. Matthias Pk L

Lwr Castle St.

est St. Broad Weir W P T Midland Road Old Market St. The charming‘Old Fox’ pub once stood on the Castle banks of the River Frome and is worth a visit for Park its display of photographs depicting Victorian Avon Easton and local coal miners. The pub was the first Walkway to be bought by CAMRA ( Campaign for Real Ale) to Bristol and it was a haunt of the world famous cricketer, Temple Meads W.G. Grace, who was a local doctor. Railway Station N emple Way T 1 © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. South Gloucestershire Council Licence No. LA09065L/99/14 V E AL M L P T O E outh of Eastville Park, Y Frome Bridge R

F flooding of the Frome and W S Y A A the Avon has caused serious and L K W widespread damage in the past, especially in Eastville, St.Werburghs and Broadmead. A number of flood prevention Blackberry Hill Park Road schemes in the City culminated in the completion Wickham of the Northern Stormwater Interceptor in 1968, Court which can be seen at Eastville. Wickham Hill Wickham l il Bridge H Colston ll Hi ll Weir Be

Merchants Arms PH

Eastville Park

Eastville Muller Road P Heath Road Park Muller Road T

Fis hp on ds Ro ad

The Queens Head PH

Wickham Court can be seen above the river north M32 Stapleton Road of Wickham Bridge.This 17th Century farmhouse was reported to have been the meeting place of Cromwell and Fairfax in 1645 before the attack on N Bristol in the Civil War. The Black Swan PH 2 © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. South Gloucestershire Council Licence No. LA09065L/99/14 V E AL M L O E he picturesque cottages facing

Y R Frenchay

F the river at Snuff Mills were W T Hospital Y Frenchay A A originally quarrymen’s cottages. Old L K W Be quarry workings can be found along F g St. Johns r b e r the valley, particularly around Snuff Mills park. o Church n o c k Park P h The Pennant Sandstone was loaded onto barges a y

Frenchay H

and taken down-river to Bristol. The remaining i l P Common l mill is one of several which used to work this earces Hill section of the river. The waterwheel seen turning The White Lion was the last one to be used on the site. PH

Weir Frenchay Frenchay Bridge Mill renchay Park Road F F renchay Rd

Weir at Snuff Mills Oldbury Court Weir Estate

T Gill Avenue

P Snuff Mills Weir Halfpenny Weir Bridge

Manor Rd Frenchay Bridge

F ‘Fromeshaw’ meaning small W F Y A A wood by the Frome, was originally L K W a community of millers and quarrymen. Serious flooding has occurred along this stretch in the past and the stormwater channel with concrete sides was constructed to act as a measuring weir so that the flow could be controlled. The Grove at the bottom of Frenchay Hill is associated with Edward Higgins, a notorious highwayman who arrived from America in 1763. His ill-gotten gains allowed him to A4174 become established in Bristol’s high society before Frenchay he was executed in 1767 despite attempts to forge

a reprieve. Adjacent to Cleeve Road, on the B

c opposite side of the river lies Cleeve Mill, one of k

p the best preserved mills along the river, with some o

stone-work dating back to the 17th Century. R

o a Bromley Heath Road Originally a corn mill,it was adapted to make d agricultural tools in 1798 before operations ceased in 1885.At the turn of the century when boating Grange Park was popular it was a tea room before becoming a privateresidence. Cleeve bridge hides an earlier Cleeve Road arch, possibly medieval, which can be seen Cleeve Mill beneath. During the 18th Century money taken at the tollgate was used to upkeep the roads.A post Cleeve Bridge marked ‘Turnpike Trust 1823’ can still be seen today.

B Frenchay e Frenchay g b F r Hospital St. Johns r oo e k Church n P c ark P h

Frenchay H

P i earces Hill l Common l The White Lion PH The Grove Lower Mill N Frenchay Bridge

F a short diversion can be taken to Winterbourne W J l Y l i Viaduct A A climb Bury Hill,upon which sits an L K W H e

ancient Celtic fort, built about 700 BC. b Huckford Community m The double earth ramparts are well preserved o Quarry c Forest Path r except on the western side, where they were The a H destroyed by quarrying along with a Roman wall. Crosshands Winterbourne PH Down The Romans later occupied the fort, facing the Down Road River Severn, to defend against invasions from South Wales. S Damsons Church Road tone La Bridge T n h e e D M in o gle o M r e i n l C d e l n R u R c a o o L k a ls a o d l d o rre o L W a n

Bury Hill The Hambrook PH B4058 PH The White Community Horse Forest Hambrook Winterbourne Viaduct Path Mill Hambrook The impressive Winterbourne Viaduct dominates the surrounding landscape with its 11 huge arches rising up to 100 feet above the river. It was built

with huge blocks of local stone and completed in

d a

o 1902 as part of the Wootton Bassett to Patchway

R M4 h

t railway, now part of the London - South Wales

H main line.

l Just to the south of the Viaduct the walkway

o r passes close to Huckford Quarry which provided

A4174 B sandstone for the railway.The quarry is now

A4174 managed as a Local Nature Reserve providing a pleasant area to explore the woodlands, grasslands N and rocky slopes. 5 © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. South Gloucestershire Council Licence No. LA09065L/99/14 V E AL M L O E ightingales Bridge is the only

F surviving arched bridge of W N Y PH A A three that once existed in the village L K W of Frampton Cotterell. Live & Let Live Inn

d a o R l to is r W Nightingales Bridge B atley’s End Road Harris Barton

o R Frampton

y r Cotterell o

t Lane c a F

e ark

u P n ve A rk

Nicholls Lane Pa

v i

s i c n a r F

Winterbourne Cloisters Road

The Old Hat Factory

Nightingales Bridge

Over the other side of the river, up the hill on Factory Road, a large dwelling can be seen which Bradley Avenue originally was the Watley’s End Hat Factory. In the 19th Century over 100 people were N employed here to make beaver hats. © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. South Gloucestershire Council Licence No. LA09065L/99/14 6 P

V E AL M L O E t Frampton Cotterell the path

F passes around St. Peter’s W A Y A A Church,rebuilt in the late 19th L K W Century but retaining the original tower from medieval times. The old pound gate can be found in the churchyard wall, although the original pound, where stray animals found in the village were kept, was on the opposite side of Church Road. An old tramway can still be seen today behind St Peter’s Church. This is the location of the now disused Roden Acre Mine, where iron ore was worked at the end of the last century and transported, via the Tramway, to Iron Acton where it then went on to South Wales. St. Peter’s Church Frampton Cotterell

Bristol Road Frampton Cotterell Mill

The Globe Church Road

PH d

St. Peter’s Church a

R o ectory Road R

School Road d n

o t p

m a r F Clyde Road

PH Live & Let Live Inn Frampton Cotterell

F Algars Manor as early as the W A

Y B4059 A A Doomsday Book (1086), although L K W the last mill ceased working at the end of the 19th Century and the wheel was later removed. A well preserved mill race can be seen in the attractive gardens of the Manor, originally a Yate Road tudor house rebuilt in the 18th Century. The walkway passes close to Chill Wood which is a Local Nature Reserve owned by Iron Acton Parish The White Hart Iron Acton Council. Circular depressions mark the position of PH abandoned vertical shafts from 17th Century High Street mines. A nature trail runs between Algars Manor and PH Chill Wood. The wood includes the not so common Wild Service Tree and all three of the UK The Rose and Crown woodpecker species may be found here. Bristol Road P Station Road

Algars Manor Bristol Road

B4058 Chill Wood Cog Mill Farm

Weir

d n E n to p m a The Frome at Algars Manor r F

F south east of Chill Wood, and W T Y A A was built to alleviate floods lower L K W down the river. In the 18th Century the land beside the river was mined for coal with simple ‘bell’ pits with a windlass to raise the coal Dyers Lane to the surface. Excavations for sewer pipes revealed a coal seam only a few metres below ground level along the valley. The Weir and Mill Leat (now dry), to the north The River Frome near of Nibley used to supply water to the 17th Century Stover Bridge Nibley Mill.

Chill Wood Yate

Bridge Road Stover Road Weir

Hope Road Stover Bridge

Nibley Mill

The Swan Inn PH

Nibley

Badminton Road

Tubbs Bottom Weir

A plaque on Stover Bridge states that it was built in 1898. The word Stover is a corruption of Stanford, N which means stony ford. © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. South Gloucestershire Council Licence No. LA09065L/99/14 9 V E AL M L O E oose Green Fields is a site of

F Nature Conservation Interest W G Y A A consisting of low lying wet L K W grassland, marsh and scrub. South Gloucestershire Council now own and manage the site in partnership with a local wildlife group.

Goose Green Way Goose Green Fields Nature Area

G r Iron Acton Way e Armstrong Way e n w a y s Ro ad

Cranleigh Court Road

Yate

Stover Bridge North Road

The Stover Road Railway Millbrook RoadYate Railway Inn Station PH Station Road

F passes around the edge of W A Y A A Barnhill Quarry.The quarry was L K W started in the late 19th Century and then extended to the north of Love Lane in 1958 and extended further still in 1977 by tunnelling under the Wickwar Road. The quarry contains fossiliferous limestones and is a Site of Geological Importance.

Jubilee Gardens

St. Marys Church

Wickwar Road

Church RoadYate

PH The White Lion St. Johns Way B4060 Barnhill Quarry Disused PH Station Road Chipping The Swan Sodbury ute P Ro Cow e P Former Jubilee Gardens tiv Mill na Workhouse lter Bowling Hill A Tudor Buildings House (Ridgewood) St John the Kennedy Way Baptist PH Hatters PH PH Lane

High St, Hounds Road Hounds

A432

Horse St.

Bowling oad

F the steep scarp slopes of the W T Y A A Cotswold Hills can be seen in the L K W distance. They are crowned by an Iron Age hill fort south of the farm on the skyline. Two air shafts protrude from mounds of waste marking the site of the Great Western Railway tunnel. Monarch’s Way The workers were lowered down six such shafts

St. Johns Way and they brought up the excavated material the same way.

Chipping Sodbury

Gorlands Road

View looking towards Old Sodbury

Horse Street

Cotswold Road A432

Badminton Road Frome Bridge

Chipping Sodbury Station Disused Aqueduct

Monarch’s Way

F walkway, at the junction of W L Y A A Badminton Road and L K W Commonmead Lane, is a former 19th Century tollhouse, which is being converted to residential flats. The path officially ends at the foot of the Cotswold Hills, although a pleasant extension to the walk is to continue along the Cotswold Way to Tormarton Village for spectacular views over the Jubilee Way valley from the top of the escarpment, and where parking and a bus service is available.

Cotswold Way

Commonmead Lane St. Johns Church

A432 e an old L tsw

Badminton Road Old Toll House Co Church Lane Church

PH Aqueduct The Dog Inn

Old

Sodbury

m i

Cotswold Way n

a d

ormarton Chapel Lane Chapel The Old Toll House Mill Lane

Public Transport Y Public Transport R R

F F W W Y Information Y Information A A A A L K W L K W BUS SERVICE ACCESS POINTS RAIL SERVICES Eastville Park Bristol Temple Meads Station Frequent• bus services to/from Bristol City Centre, Trains• run at irregular intervals between Bristol and Bristol Bus Station and Stapleton Road Railway Yate. Hourly trains to Stapleton Road Station, Station. Monday to Saturday but NO Sunday service. Stapleton Stapleton Road Station Frequent• bus services to/from Bristol City Centre and Hourly• local trains from Bristol Temple Meads and Stapleton Road Railway Station. Severn Beach. Also infrequent trains from Bristol Parkway, Yate and Gloucester. Blackberry Hill Frequent• bus services to/from Bristol City Centre. Yate Local• trains from Gloucestershire, Bristol Parkway, • Frenchay Common Stapleton Road and Bristol temple Meads. Also Nearest bus stop for frequent services is on the B4058 served by buses to/from Frampton Cotterell and at Begbrook Park. Frequent services to/from Bristol Chipping Sodbury. City Centre . Whiteshill Hourly• bus service from Bristol Bus Station and Yate Please note that bus and train services are subject to Railway Station. change at short notice. The information in this leaflet is intended as a guide only. References to frequency • Kendleshire apply to Monday to Saturday daytimes. Not all Frequent bus service to/from Bristol Bus Station and services run daily and most run less frequently on Yate Railway Station. Sundays and Bank Holidays. • Frampton Cotterell Church For all bus timetable information please ring Hourly bus service to/from Bristol Bus Station and TRAVELINE on 0117 955 5111 (between 0800 and Yate Railway Station. 2000 daily). Bus services numbered between 500 and Chipping Sodbury 999 are provided with financial support from local Frequent• bus services to/from Bristol Bus Station and councils. Yate Railway Station. For all train information, please ring Old Sodbury NATIONAL RAIL ENQUIRIES on 08457 484950 Nearest• bus stop for services to/from Yate and Bath is (24 hours daily). at The Dog Public House on the A432. V E AL M L O E

Y Further R F W Y Information A A L K W Frome Valley Walkway Community Forest Path Avon Walkway The Forest of Avon Team: (0117) 953 2141 Walks and Leisure activities in Bristol Bristol City Council: (0117) 922 3719 Severn Way Bristol City Council: (0117) 903 6841 Jubilee Way Monarchs Way Local walks in South Gloucestershire the Public Rights of Way Team, South Gloucestershire Council: (01454) 863646 Cotswold Way Cotswold AONB Partnership: (01451) 862000

The Forest of Avon is a special place in and around Bristol where the landscape is being transformed into a unique and exciting environ- ment. Through hundreds of projects many organisations and individuals are working together planting thousands of new trees and managing existing woodlands for wildlife and sustainable timber production. Improved recreational opportunities in The Forest of Avon are ensuring that the local people have space to relax and engage in sport and leisure for a healthier lifestyle. The Frome Valley Walkway is one of many recreational routes which will help you explore the Forest and surrounding countryside. Contact the Forest of Avon on (0117) 953 2141 or visit our website on www.forestofavon.org for more details.