Water parsnip

Clapton Moor circuit walk

Route description

For more information on this reserve and how to get there, visit the reserve page

A new circular walk approximately 4.5 km or 3 miles in length has been created in the Gordano Valley linking the Clapton Moor Nature Reserve with the village of Clapton-in-Gordano.

The route, which is to be known as the Clapton Circuit, has been made possible through the dedication of new rights of way at Avon Wildlife Trust's Clapton Moor Nature Reserve and across neighbouring farmland. Funding for the project has been provided by YANSEC

The new rights of way form a connecting link between the existing rights of way network at Clapton Drove (GR ST 464 740) and Clevedon Lane (GR 459 731) a distance of about 1.3 km.

Starting at the Black Horse pub in Clapton in Gordano the circuit is best enjoyed by walking in a clockwise direction first walking up Wood Lane towards the motorway bridge. Just before the bridge turn right by an old cottage with a date 1766-1780 on the wall. Keep to the left close under the M5 motorway across the first two stiles. The first part of the walk is dominated by the noise and sights of the motorway but after passing Nicholas Wood on the right the route bears away from the motorway towards the brow of the hill.

(Close to this point a hoard of 3500 Roman coins was found in the 1920s together with the foundations of a Roman building and slag from iron smelting. Some of the coins can be seen at Woodspring Museum in Weston-super-mare but for some strange reason the bulk of the hoard is now in a museum in Sydney, Australia)

At the brow of the hill a magnificent view of the Gordano Valley reaching out towards Clevedon comes into sight. The route then descends the hill towards Clapton Church past Nicholas Wood on the right. Half way down the slope the entire panorama of the the valley is laid out before you from the cranes and industry of Royal Portbury Dock, past the growing town of Portishead and sweeping south westwards past the villages of Weston- and Walton-in-Gordano to the outskirts of Clevedon.

(From this point the variety of the valley's geography is clearly displayed. Across the valley, woodlands, including the Trust's reserve of Weston Big Wood, cloak the northern ridge which is mainly limestone in character. These woodlands are mirrored on the southern ridge. The valley floor below this point sits on a bed of marl which was deposited about 2000 years ago when the sea level rose and flooded this eastern end. It is a few feet higher and therefore drier than the western end and is made up from small, hedge lined, fields. By contrast the valley floor at the western end of the valley is composed of peat laid down over the last 11,000 years in a shallow inland lake protected from the sea by a sand bar across the valley at Weston-in-Gordano. There are fewer hedges and the fields are divided by rhynes (ditches). )

The route carries on down the hill and joins the church path at a metal gate. Through the gate the walk descends the road from the Church onto Clevedon Lane and around Clapton Court.

St Michael's is a Norman (Grade 1 listed) rose coloured sandstone church standing on its own knoll and was once in the centre of the village. The village appears to have moved eastward as coal mining developed. At Clapton Court a glance through the 17th century archway reveals the magnificent 15th century embattled tower which is all that remains of Clapton Manor which dates back to 1325. It was once the most important house in Gordano.

After passing the farm the footpath turns left and passes between the cowsheds and a large silo. Go through the gate at the end and turn right and head up hill,cross two stiles and then head for the top of the slope under the motorway. New Farm is directly below with the Trust's Clapton Moor reserve beyond. To the right of New Farm is the site of a coal shaft, part of the 19th century coal mining activity. Cross two more stiles and head downhill away from the motorway. As you walk downhill the valley is once more spread out before you. Walk to the bottom of the hill with the woodland on your left, cross a stile into a narrow field under the wood ,and immediately go through a kissing gate onto Clevedon Lane. Straight across the road is a narrow gap in the hedge and steps leading down to a kissing gate and in to Clapton Moor Nature Reserve. This is the start of the newly dedicated right of way which leads around the reserve and across adjoining fields to meet the existing rights of way network at Clapton Drove. The route around the reserve runs through 10m wide borders to the upper fields on the reserve which have been fenced and are managed to provide feeding habitat for owls and other birds of prey.

(Clapton Moor Nature Reserve was purchased by the Trust in 1997 and measures nearly 40 ha or 98 acres in area. At that time the land was rough grazing attached to New Farm. It had been managed unintensively for many years and represented some of the best unspoiled wetland areas in the valley. The reserve cost £190,000 to purchase and a further £100,000 was set aside for restoration and management. 75% of these costs were provided by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The other funders for the project included Yansec and the Countryside Commission.)

On entry to the reserve turn right and head towards Portishead and the mouth of the valley. On the left the reserve drops away to the low lying wet meadows which are actively managed to encourage waders including redshank, lapwing, and snipe to breed. The fields immediately below the path are managed as hay meadows and contain a diverse range of meadow flowers. Notice the difference between the small hedge-lined upper fields and the expansive, lower, wetland area divided by rhynes.

The path doglegs into the next field and reaches the main entrance to the reserve from where a permissive path leads down to a bird watching hide. Binoculars and telescopes are useful aids when using the hide in order to get close up views of birds in the lower wetland fields . Continuing along the top boundary of the reserve the route passes a pole-mounted barn owl nest box. Barn owls have successfully bred on the reserve. The route continues round the north eastern boundary of the reserve dropping down towards the bottom of the valley floor where a footbridge leads out of the reserve onto neighbouring farmland. Another new length of right-of-way leads from this point bearing to the right and following the rhyne across the next two fields to meet the existing right of way network at Clapton Drove.

At this point the circuit continues along Clapton Drove but walkers can also turn left and follow the footpath across the valley floor past How Harm Farm to the quarry cottages at North Weston from where a footpath leads under Weston Big Wood and eventually back into Portishead.

The route follows Clapton Drove for about 700m. On the right through breaks in the hedgerow the motorway can be seen and Nicholas Wood , Clapton Court, and Clapton Church stand out clearly on the opposite side of the valley.

Just past the riding stables a footpath leads across the valley to the outskirts of the village. Do not take this path but keep on the Drove for a further 400m until a new kissing gate appears on the right. The route passes through this gate and across the next three fields before passing through some stabling and finally through a gate into the yard of the Black Horse Pub. The fields just before the pub show signs of 16th and 17th century coal mining activity in the form of irregular mounds known as 'gruffy ground' resulting from shallow hand dug bell-pits.

Hopefully the pub will be open and well earned refreshments can be taken!