OUR
INDUSTRIAL/MARITIME HERITAGE
A level walk of 2 miles max on paved roads
A
wander around Avonmouth
'Here the sea ends and
the earth begins. It is raining over the colourless city. The
waters of the river are polluted with mud, the riverbanks
flooded’
José
Saramago The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
Avonmouth is not in the
same "picturesqueness" league as Exmouth and Dartmouth, nor even
Aberafon, its closest Welsh translation; it is an industrial suburb
of the city of Bristol, at the mouth of the River Avon on its north
bank and on the Severn Estuary. It is the location of a large port,
Avonmouth Docks. Avonmouth is home to several large chemical
manufacturing plants, fuel storage tanks and, just up the coast, a
gas fired power station. One operational flour mill remains of the
five which once were on the docksides.
There are three large wind turbines supplying electricity to the
National Grid. Each is 120 metres high, with 40 metre blades and
they supply 15 million Kilowatt hours per year, a good part of the
needs of the town. The port’s main imports currently are
milling wheat, coal and petroleum products, containerised
foodstuffs, wine and cars, exports are scrap iron and broken glass
to Russian and Chinese factories. Cable-laying vessels call to
replenish supplies of subsea cables.
Access to the port is via a lock, constructed around 1912 and now
too small for all but small Intra-European traders. The new larger
dock at Portbury handles much larger vessels, including car
transporters from the Far East.
The M5 motorway runs
through Avonmouth, and crosses the Avon by the Avonmouth Bridge.
The M49 motorway runs between the M5 near Avonmouth and the M4
motorway at the Second Severn Crossing. The old Severn Bridge and
the M48 motorway are linked to Avonmouth by the A403.
As you look up at the massive bridge carrying the M5 over the River
Avon spare a thought for the three workmen killed in 1999 when the
gantry from which they were doing maintenance work on the bridge
broke, plunging them 80 feet to their deaths.
Newport and the northern suburbs of Cardiff are visible on the far
bank of the Severn Estuary.
There is a significant
residential area in Avonmouth between the industrialised zone and
the M5 motorway. Avonmouth is sometimes considered as a satellite
town of Bristol as opposed to a suburb.
Avonmouth railway
station is served by a usually hourly service to Bristol at the
Avonmouth railway station on the Severn Beach Line. It is the main
terminus of the line; however, a few trains a day continue to St
Andrews Road and Severn Beach.
In the past 4 stations have served Avonmouth. They were Avonmouth,
Avonmouth Dock, Avonmouth Docks and Royal Edward. This station was
the 2nd one to be built. Now only the Avonmouth Dock station (the
former name of this station) and St Andrews Road remain
Avonmouth was subjected
to many bombing raids in WW II, which is probably why so much of
the small town is of post-war construction. With the decline of the
docks towards the end of the 20th Century, Avonmouth suffered high
levels of unemployment, but is now starting to recover and become
once again a cheerful cosmopolitan little community
The stand-up comedian
and actor, Lee Evans, was born in Avonmouth in 1964
The cache is a
Tupperware container in a camo bag - please ensure it is well
hidden after you have found it. On a nice summer’s day,
combine this with my other cache “The Beachcomber” at
the terminus of the Severn Beach line.
Congratulations to
Alan G for being First To Find