Seasonal stroll at Walborough and Purn Hill A walk along the coast at any time of the year is always enjoyable but by combining it with a visit to some of the best wildlife sites on two of our nature reserve, it becomes even more rewarding. This walk begins and starts at Uphill and can be completed within two hours. From the Boatyard (1) on Uphill Way, walk south along the surfaced
Access for All path that takes you past an old lime kiln and
onto Uphill Cliff (2). Rising high on your left, this derelict
limestone quarry is now home to roosting kestrels and jackdaws.
In the past little owl have been recorded here and may still
be seen occasionally. All of this area is part of Uphill Local
Nature Reserve, owned and managed by North Somerset Council.
Further on a small enclosure on your left is home to chalkhill
blue, one of our rarest butterflies that flies during August. Follow the path round the hill and down through a kissing gate and over a bridge (5). Walk diagonally across this field, where you can see remnants of medieval sea defences. At the interpretation board rejoin the surfaced path (6) and leave the reserve, heading south through the kissing gate. The path now takes you across part of the Bleadon Levels, where most of the land is cultivated. During the spring there are lots of brown hares here, with skylarks singing overhead. Far over on the right you can see Wessex Water’s sewage treatment works. During its construction a large area of managed retreat was created along with a number of freshwater lagoons. These areas are now excellent for birds, with breeding reed bunting, reed and sedge warblers, complemented by a variety of wildfowl during the autumn and winter. Continue on this path until you reach the road that leads to the sewage treatment works (7). At this point turn left. With mature hedgerows on both sides this lane is a good migrant trap and can attract many small migrating songbirds during the spring and autumn. Spotted flycatcher, chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcaps can be seen or heard along this stretch. Follow this road until you reach the main entrance (8). Turn left onto the main road (take care – this stretch is narrow and winding) and follow this until you reach the A370 (9). Turn right and immediately cross the road, turning left at the road junction down Bleadon Road towards the village of Bleadon (10). After 100m turn left through a gate and into a field (11). Walk up the footpath, with the pub on your left and enter Purn Hill Nature Reserve (12). Follow the path and turn left to follow a flight of steps up to the summit. Here common rockrose grows alongside white rockrose, a plant found in only three locations within the UK. The pale cowslip colour of the hybrid between the two rockroses also grows at this point alongside Somerset hair-grass and honewort, a tiny umbellifer that occurs on the thin sun-parched soils of the West Mendips. At the summit you can see across the Somerset Levels, with views of the Blackdowns, Quantocks and Exmoor in the distance (13). Turn right and heading northwards walk along the spine of Purn, passing through a gateway and then out of the reserve through a kissing gate onto Purn Lane (14). Turn left and walk down the lane with Purn Hill on your left. At the bottom you reach a number of houses (15), turn right along the old road following this route until you reach the A370. Carefully cross the road and turn right, crossing over the railway bridge before turning sharp left at the next junction (16). Walk down the lane and towards the bottom turn right along a sign posted bridleway (17). Along this route whitethroats and lesser whitethroats can
be heard setting up their breeding territories in the spring. Meadow
brown and gatekeepers can also be seen flying along the bridleway,
and you may see azure and blue-tailed damselflies as they hunt
for small flies amongst the grass. Follow this old country by-way
until you reach the point at which you left Walborough Nature
Reserve (6). Enter the reserve, turning slightly left, again
walking diagonally across the first field. Cross the bridge (5)
and turn left, passing two gates, and retrace your steps following
the edge of the rising hill. After 150m, instead of continuing
along the path that goes over the hill, bear to the left (18)
and descend the path, passing a small quarry on your right, along
a boardwalk and over a stile onto the old sea wall. Walk along
the wall with the existing saltmarsh on your left (19) and the
newly created managed retreat on your right, leaving the reserve
by a series of kissing gates. Stay on the coastal path and return
to the beginning of the walk by passing alongside the boatyard
(1).
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