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Gratuitously bumpy for a destination that can be reached more or less on the level. The bumps give a trip through Ashton Court, views across the Tickenham valley from near St Andrews church Backwell, and down Wrington Hill into Wrington. Tea, coffee and cake at Mother Hen's cafe in Wrington.
Suitable picnic spots in Ashton Court, and on the Millenium Way in Flax Bourton.
Short stretch of the A370 in West Town before turning off along back lanes towards Claverham & Cleeve. Almost direct crossing of the A370 in Cleeve.
Backwell church
Descent to Wrington
Mother Hen's, Broad Street, Wrington
Skirts round east of Thornbury for trip up to the Old Down ridge above Tytherington, a handy picnic spot with seats looking east across the headwaters of the Ladden Brook to the Cotswold edge, then about face to descend into Thornbuy Vale and across the marshes to the Severn bank and Shepperdine.
For return choose any suitable route over Stock Hill from the Oldbury area.
Roads generally quiet, uses the inner distributor road to pass round Thornbury, not the ring road.
Looking east over the Ladden headwaters to the Cotswold edge from the seats behind the car park at Tower Farm above Tytherington
View west over the Severn marshlands from Whitewall Lane
An architecture at one with the landscape - Lower Morton
Shepperdine - the Severn at low tide on a summer day.
Trip down the Gordano Valley to the levels, visiting the coast to see the Severn Sea without waiting for it to resume its former courses across the levels. Enters Clevedon by climbing Dial Lane to Hill Road,with its baker's and cafes then down along the front past Salthouses to Clevedon Pill and the Blind Yeo outflow beyond Wain's Hill with St Andrew's church. Then, after a short detour through Kingston Seymour returns along Claverham Drove and through Ashton Court.
Generally quiet roads, apart from the short stretch of A370 returning through Backwell, and the short stretch of B road into Clevedon. Going over Hill Road visits an attractive part of Clevedon and avoids the busier Old Street that goes more directly to the front.
New moon and equinox approaching: the tide still rising in the Avon.
Salthouse Bay Clevedon, taking advantage of the new moon tides to drain the Marine Lake for maintenance.
An impressive outflow from the marine lake, but new moon means the water will be back soon.
Picnic spot at Clevedon Pill, outside the banks that keep the levels dry, with mudflats exposed by the receding tide.
The Blind Yeo draining the levels towards the weir at Clevedon Pill
Kingston Seymour - waters in the ditch almost up to road level
Kingston Seymour, Church of All Saints - flooded 1.5 metres deep in the great flood of 1607.
From NW Bristol round across the Ladden Vale up to the Cotswold edge at Hawkesbury Upton monument, then through the Cotwold slope villages of Hawkesbury and Horton to return via Iron Acton and Frampton Cotterell to use the Gaunts Earthcott approach to the Severn Vale.
Quiet rural lanes and wide views W across Sodbury and Inglestone Commons, continuing surprisingly rural south of Iron Acton after just touching the edge of Yate. Typical limestone pasture on the edge and open wooded and scrubby common between Wickwar and Hawkesbury Upton. Medieval churches and village cores according to choice.
The Somerset monument and grounds are private, but the seat just across the road provides a place to sit and admire the view.
Short detour from Tytherington up to Tower Farm/Baden Hill reaches the three seats looking out across the Ladden Vale for a good picnic site, although motorway noise from the west can be surprisingly loud.
Probably the furthest south you can make a loop in the Ladden Vale without getting tangled in the satellite towns.
Generally quiet roads, the Easter Compton stretch, now 20 mph within the village and the short stretch of B4058 to Cromhall Common being the only main roads. The latter fast but wide and not heavily trafficked.
Chase Lane, Inglestone Common with the Cotswold edge and Somerset monument up ahead.
Scaffolders at work on Hawkesbury church
Looking NW over the Ladden Vale from the Cotswold slopes
The Cotswold slopes.
The bridleway and footpath that link the Strawberry Line to Mendip Way and Yatton shops, and are marked as such on the ground do not appear to be in the planner. See the dogleg forced into my route: 'Stoke Bishop, BS9 to Sandon circular via Common Lane & Dolemoor Lane'
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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