Portishead//Avonmouth//Stokes Croft

Unsure of how to spend my day, I decided to explore to the north of Bristol, up the Avon Gorge to Avonmouth, Portishead and perhaps as far along as Severn Bridge. It's an area I've always been interested in exploring - many hours in my youth pawing over the map and the local geology has made it one of the places in my local(ish) area I've desired to know better.

I caught the train with my bike as far as Bristol (2nd attempt, forgot my bank card on the first... ) in order to cut out 20 or so miles, and headed off up the gorge.

Amazing path, amazing scenery, and fantastic views up the gorge and of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, shown here. Just out of shot is the Clifton Rocks Railway, an underground funicular railway built in 1893.

Continued along by the river, looking at the geology (lots of limestone and some more recent mudstone) up to the village of Pill (Anglo-Saxon for inlet), which had a picturesque viaduct and harbour.

Onwards to Avonmouth, which is dominated by the huge port there, the Royal Portbury Dock. They didn't let me in to poke about, which was a shame - I managed to sneak in further along but not as good to photo there. Something about huge industry really interests me, I'm always trying to poke about where health and safety says I shouldn't be.

Royal Portbury Dock primarily imports fuel (lots of tankers), coal and cars. As I turned around, abandoning the idea of going as far as Severn Bridge as the road was so long and busy, I headed to Portishead. On route you pass the newly constructed railway to take the imported cars, and the huge, huge HUGE holding car-parks where the cars are stored before they're shipped about the UK. I had a few photos, but the scale is so much that you really need an aerial shot to do it justice. Where's Yann Arthus-Bertrand when you need him? Anyway, go on google maps and zoom out to see the scale I'm on about. Impressive.

Stopped in Portishead to look at the view up the Severn Estuary to the two bridges and Wales. Portishead was lush - very nice atmosphere of old and young people in cafés and walking up and down the waterfront, with an open air lido and tasteful new development.

Once back in Bristol, I met up with Dash and Aisling for a BBQ overlooking the suspension bridge, eating enough to feed at least 6. Later we met up with Olivia and Duncan, off to the pub and ending up all sleeping in a twisted heap on Dash's bed.