Mud, mud, glorious mud
RIVER estuaries are a bit like Marmite; they are either loved or loathed. To many people, estuaries are forlorn places where, at low tide, the vast expanses of grey mud often under grey skies produce a melancholic e ect on the human spirit. To others, estuaries are magically atmospheric places that are a haven for wildfowl as epitomised in Paul Gallico’s novella ‘ e Snow Goose’.
is week’s walk explores the Severn Estuary in-and-around the two Severn Crossings and, despite being a there-and-back walk, brings di ering outlooks along the way.
e start is close to Old Passage, lying in the shadow of the Severn Bridge, as opposed to the more recent Prince of Wales Bridge. Old Passage was the original Severn crossing, where a ferry ran to Beachley across the river’s treacherous waters.
A couple of miles south is New Passage, where a later rail link connected with a ferry to Portskewett.
Subsequently, a railway tunnel killed o the New Passage ferry and the Severn Bridge meant the end of the Old Passage ferry the day before the bridge opened in 1966.
The mud ats, according to an information board, are essentially a service station for wildfowl on their migratory trips between colder and warmer climes. ere are also countless ‘species in residence’ including the occasional heron, huge numbers of Canada geese, egrets and oystercatchers. e most interesting migratory species are the unfortunately named godwits. On their vast travels, somehow they manage to sleep on the wing. In 2007, a ringed female known as E7 ew for eight days from Alaska to New Zealand across the Paci c nonstop.
e halfway point on the walk, or the start if you come by train, is Severn Beach. Manchester and the cities of the north west had Blackpool, Bristol had a random village on the Severn Estuary which once had a funfair, boating lake and other sundry entertainments. In the 1920s, my grandmother would cycle 20 miles from her home near Bristol to spend a week here camping each summer, at a site that is now a residential mobile home complex. Try explaining that to today’s young people ying out to Magaluf or Torremolinos; maybe she was the original green tourist?
If you start from Old Passage, Severn Beach will o er rest and refreshment halfway around the walk in various guises.
e latest cafe is ‘Just As You Are’ that receives excellent online reviews, but it respects the Sabbath and is closed on Sundays. ere is also Shirley’s cafe, a family run business since 1945, that o ers breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. Finally, Down’s Bakery, whose website describes its excellent hand-crafted products.
Severn Beach is in many ways a slightly rundown ‘resort’, so do not expect the gourmet delights of Bath but rather good value honest-to-goodness food o erings.
GETTING THERE
Leave the M48 at Junction 1 by the Aust Services and follow the A403 towards Avonmouth. In 1 mile, turn right on a road signposted to Aust Warth and Old Passage. Park on the roadside in ¼ mile, just after the yellow lines expire.
1. Walk back towards the A403 and, where the road bears left, pass through a gateway on the right to join the English Coast Path. Follow this path for just under 2 miles to reach the truncated remains of New Passage Pier on the right.
2. Continue following what is now a Tarmac Coast Path for 1 mile, passing under the Prince of Wales Bridge along the way, until the path reaches the ‘Just As You Are’ cafe on the left in Severn Beach. Leave the path to enjoy refreshments, although on Sundays the cafe is closed so alternatives are Down’s Bakery or Shirley’s.
3. Retrace your steps back to the Coast Path, turn right and walk for 3 miles back to Old Passage and the roadside parking. If you have any energy left, drive along the road and park by the old Ferry Terminal and walk along the concrete path ahead to Aust Cli , just before the original Severn Bridge, a mecca for fossil hunters.
NB: It is possible to take the train from Bath Spa to Severn Beach via Bristol Temple Meads and do this walk in reverse. e journey time is an hour from Bath Spa, slightly less from Keynsham, with a return fare of just under a tenner.