The Secret Severn

Having spent the night in Bristol, we had a day to relax and spend around the city. We both work there regularly (although Chris less so nowadays), but don't get the chance to enjoy the areas outside of the office. But - it was grey, dim and very wet - one of those days when the light never really gets going. So instead of being damp in the city (or even being virtuous and doing some Christmas shopping), we decided to get in the car and go for an explore.

That was where Chris made his fatal mistake: he left it to me (Annie) to decide where we went. 20 minutes in, as we'd passed some docks, a derelict mill, a windfarm, a scrapyard and a nuclear power station he said, "You do take me to all the best places, don't you?". Still - it was interesting in an urban way, and what else should you do on a grey day?

We went along to the roads that cross the motorways on the Severn Bridges - always interesting to see the hustle and infrastructure of a motorway from a different, quieter angle. The Folio has a picture of the new Severn Bridge (crossing the river Severn between England and Wales) from Severn Beach (click here for a map*). Impressive bridge, and great place to watch the estuary from - with what looks like a great walk along the shoreline, under the motorway - just ready for a drier day.

We carried on past the motorway, the entrance to the Severn Railway Tunnel and Pilning (a villiage with a station home to "ghost" or "Parliamentary" trains). Along to the other, older, Severn Bridge at Aust. Here the Aust - Beachley Ferry used to sail between England and Wales before the Severn Bridges were built, cutting off the 60 mile round trip to the nearest bridge at Gloucester. The ferry stopped almost immediately when the bridge opened. I'd been interested to find the ticket office in Aust, having discovered it on blip courtesy of ByTheWay10. We found where we thought it would be, but the rain stopped us exploring further this time. There was also what looked an interesting footpath up and over the motorway at the toll booths - but again, another time. Too wet for today!

Instead we headed over the bridge, and went to Beachley under the end of the bridge. We had a great lunch in the Old Ferry Inn there, then went to photograph the impressive structure from right underneath. We'd been looking for the wreck of the old ferry itself, which had been moored here awaiting restoration - but some quick smartphone surfing found it'd moved to Chepstow nearby.

So off we went, with only the most basic of Internet-found instructions where it was - and found it lying in mud by the river Wye, under the A48 and rail bridges. At least it's now moored out of water, but as Chris' blip shows, it's not looking at its best right now.

Finally, we headed north up the A48 to find the remains of Severn Bridge Railway station. Until 1970 there was a railway bridge across the Severn between Purton and Sharpness - allowing easy travel by train between the English and Welsh sides of the Severn. On 25 October 1960 in fog two barges carrying fuel overshot the canal entrance and were swept upstream by the tide, hitting the bridge. Two bridge spans collapsed and the fuel caught light, killing 5 people. The bridge was never repaired and was demolished in 1970. We found the site of the station, but again rain and mud (and now dim light) stopped us exploring further - another day.

So - after all that nerdiness, we headed off to Stroud to a party at a friend of ours (who organised Chris to go on the Triumph Round Britian Reliability Run). We were very muddy from our explorations, so we changed in the car. Pulling into a layby, I was trouserless when Chris accidentally opened the car door, putting the interior lights on. Hello, world!

A lovely party with interesting people, and a local recommendation of where else to explore: the "Purton Hulks". Then the 2 hour drive home through rain, flooded roads and fog. Hard work, but we made it by 1:30. So this is a back blip!!

Having read all this, I'm sure you'd agree that when people say we should get out more, they should be careful what they wish for. Just look what happens when we do! ;)



* See what I did there, Keith?