Avon Gorge (a unique limestone habitat in Bristol)
Avon Gorge is a 300-feet deep limestone gorge in Bristol, formed by glacier meltwater during the last Ice Age. It’s a renowned botanical and geological hotspot, with unique whitebeam trees (found nowhere else on earth), nesting peregrine falcons and 350-million-year-old fossilised sea creatures.
If walking nearby, always follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe. Keep dogs away from steep banks, and toxic bulbs and trees.
It’s also the only place in England where Bristol rock-cress and Bristol onions grow wild. And the rare silky wave moth. The south-facing slopes and sheltered nature of the gorge, also enable rare plants to thrive in a unique microclimate.
There used to be a hidden Clifton Rocks Railway, which travelled inside the gorge cliffs from 1893 to 1934. The local legend is that the gorge was created by Vincent and Goram – two local giants, who dug it out to drain the sea!
