To be beside the seaside
With the summer officially ending on September 22nd, this week’s walk provides the perfect opportunity for one last summer’s trip to the coast.
The sea, with its ebb and flow of tides, has long held a fascination and delight for everyone from the youngest toddler to the aged octogenarian. This quite delightful walk includes a section of the coastal path bordering the Bristol Channel that runs between Portishead and Clevedon, a path that provides extensive views westwards towards the South Wales coast and the more distant Welsh hills.
Before reaching the sea, however, a low range of hills is followed north-eastwards out of Clevedon, taking in both Castle hill with its 17th-century folly – now very much a private residence – and Walton Down with its ancient field systems and enclosures.
There is also the Victorian resort of Clevedon itself, whose grey villas line the hillside above the pebble beach. The centrepiece of the town’s seafront is the magnificent Victorian pier, a structure that caught the eye of none other than John Betjeman, who wrote: ‘it recalls a painting by turner, or an etching by Whistler or Sickert, or even a Japanese print...without its pier, Clevedon would be a diamond with a flaw’.
At the end of the walk, Clevedon offers a whole host of cafes, restaurants and pubs that will provide both rest and refreshment. My own favourite is ‘tiffin at the Beach’, which is well-known for its large selection of teas and bespoke coffees, not forgetting a delicious range of cakes and pastries. Equally important is tiffin’s prime location overlooking the Bristol Channel to Wales - it’s the perfect place to enjoy delicious deli-style food.
Getting there
■ Leave the M5 at junction 20 and follow the signs for Clevedon’s seafront. This will eventually bring you to a road known as ‘The Beach’, where there is free parking just below Clevedon Pier.
■ 1. Walk up the road past the pier – Marine Parade – for 200m to its junction with Marine Hill by a Catholic Church. At this point, fork left onto a tarmac coastal path and continue for 1.2km to a crossroads of paths. At this point, steps on the right lead up to a road, and the path on the left drops down to Layde Bay. Ignoring these turnings, keep ahead on the main coast path that climbs above Layde Bay. In 350m, at the next junction, turn right and climb steeply uphill away from the sea. In 250m, at the top of the climb, keep on the path as it bears left, all the while bordering the local golf course. Continue along this hilltop path for 200m to a stile and a junction.
■ 2. Turn right, and follow a path down to a gate and a drive by the Golf Course Clubhouse. Continue along this access road, passing Castle Farm, to a junction and turn left. Follow what becomes an unmetalled road along to a handgate, ignoring side turns, and continue along the path as it crosses the golf greens. Beyond these greens, follow the path ahead as it drops downhill through an area of woodland, keeping right on the main path at an early fork. In 325m, beyond a handgate, cross another golf green and rejoin the enclosed footpath opposite. Continue downhill through another area of woodland until the path reaches Walton in Gordano Church in 200m. Follow the path to the left of the church to a lane, and turn right past Church Farm down to the B3124.
■ 3. Turn left and, in 100m, just past the last property on the left in Walton in Gordano, cross a stile on the left and enter a field that has been divided up into paddocks. Walk uphill to a stile at the entrance to some woodland 150m ahead, crossing one other stile along the way. Beyond this stile, follow the path uphill through the tree cover towards Walton Common. In 150m, at a junction, turn right and follow a path that climbs more gently uphill onto the open hilltop. Follow the path across the hilltop ahead, keeping left at a feint fork along the way, until – in 325m – the path passes into the woodland on the western edge of the hilltop. Follow the woodland path ahead for 550m to a junction.
■ 4. Turn left at this T-junction, drop down out of the tree cover and follow a farm road ahead up to some properties on the coast road running between Clevedon and Portishead. Cross this road, and follow the enclosed path opposite that drops down to a stile and a field above the sea. Head down to the bottom left-corner of this field, cross a stile and join the coast path. Turn left, and follow this path for 3.2km back to Ladye Bay. Beyond this point, retrace your steps along the coast path back to Marine Parade, where a right turn brings you back to Clevedon Pier.