Bristol’s River Avon (though there is more than one!)
Bristol’s River Avon (83 miles) rises in Gloucestershire, passing through Wiltshire (Chippenham, Bradford on Avon) and Somerset/Bristol. It’s popular for walking trails.
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.
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!
Always follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe. Keep dogs away from steep banks, mushrooms (and toxic plants/trees) and on leads near birds, barnyard friends and wild ponies.
At the coast, keep away from nesting birds and never walk on sand dunes. Learn how to keep dogs safe by the seaside (check beach bans before travel).
Flows into Bradford-on-Avon
The historic town of Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire is just 12 minutes by train from the beautiful city of Bath, the town sits on the Bristol Avon River (a 75-mile river which begins in the hills near Acton Turville in southwest England. Before flowing to Bristol, and out to the sea at the Severn Estuary.
The town is known as ‘mini Bath’, as it’s built from the same gold-coloured limestone that is responsible for the beautiful architecture of the nearby city. The Sunday Times once even called this place ‘the best town in Britain’.
The town takes its name from its ‘broad ford’. With a strong link to the weaving industry, it still has remains of a large Roman village, and a 13th century arched stone bridge.
The small building on the bridge was a chapel, that also used to lock up prisoners, in the 17th century. And it is home to one of the largest tithe barns in England, at over 50 metres long.
Yet more ‘Avon rivers!
Warwickshire Avon (Upper Avon): 137 km (85 miles) long, rising in Northamptonshire, flowing through Rugby, Warwick, and Stratford-upon-Avon to join the Severn at Tewkesbury. It is a popular navigable waterway managed by the Upper and Lower Avon Navigation Trusts.
Hampshire Avon (Salisbury Avon): Flows through Wiltshire (Salisbury) and Hampshire to Christchurch Harbour.
