Description
Much the same as Porbri one but taking alternative route along cycle path between Sheepway and Pill to avoid unsafe walking along main road
Much the same as Porbri one but taking alternative route along cycle path between Sheepway and Pill to avoid unsafe walking along main road
Status
This route has been reviewed by 5 people.
There are no issues flagged.
Photos for Porbri two
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 5
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (5)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 24
Surveys
What is this route like?
Surveys are submitted by fellow users of this website and show what you might expect from this Slow Ways route. Scroll down the page to read more detailed surveys.
Grade 2X based on 1 surveys | Sign up or log in to survey this route. | ||
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Description | Note | ||
Grade 2: Mostly smooth and compacted surfaces, but there may be some loose gravel, muddy patches or cobbles. Access grade X: At least one stile, flight of steps or other obstacle that is highly likely to block access for wheelchair and scooter users. |
Grading is based on average scores by surveyors. This slow way has 1 surveys. | ||
Full grading description |
Only people who have completed our training can become Slow Ways surveyors and submit a survey. We do not vet contributors, so we cannot guarantee the quality or completeness of the surveys they complete. If you are dependent on the information being correct we recommend reading and comparing surveys before setting off.
Survey Photos
Facilities
Facilities in the middle third of this route.
Challenges
Potential challenges reported on this route. Some challenges are seasonal.
Obstacles
Obstacles on this route.
Accessibility
Is this route step and stile free?
Measurements
Surveyors were asked to measure the narrowest and steepest parts of paths.
The narrowest part of the path is 90.0cm (1)
The steepest uphill gradient walking East 14.0% (1)
The steepest uphill gradient walking West 21.0% (1)
The steepest camber gradient across the path 12.0% (1)
How clear is the waymarking on the route: Clear (1)
Successfully completed
We asked route surveyors "Have you successfully completed this route with any of the following? If so, would you recommend it to someone with the same requirements?". Here is how they replied.
Recommended by an expert
We asked route surveyors "Are you a trained access professional, officer or expert? If so, is this route suitable for someone travelling with any of the following?" Here is how they replied.
Terrain
We asked route surveyors to estimate how much of the route goes through different kinds of terrain.
There is no data on how much of this route is on roads
There is no data on how much of this route is lit at night
Thereis no data on amount of route paved
There is no data on muddiness
There is no data on rough ground
There is no data on long grass
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1 surveys
Information from verified surveys.
Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Portishead
Grid Ref
ST4674676449
Lat / Lon
51.48447° / -2.76832°
Easting / Northing
346,746E / 176,449N
What3Words
riverside.whispers.crusted
Bristol
Grid Ref
ST5894073546
Lat / Lon
51.45939° / -2.59239°
Easting / Northing
358,940E / 173,546N
What3Words
dollar.perky.study
Portishead | |
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Grid Ref | ST4674676449 |
Lat / Lon | 51.48447° / -2.76832° |
Easting / Northing | 346,746E / 176,449N |
What3Words | riverside.whispers.crusted |
Bristol | |
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Grid Ref | ST5894073546 |
Lat / Lon | 51.45939° / -2.59239° |
Easting / Northing | 358,940E / 173,546N |
What3Words | dollar.perky.study |
Sorry Land Cover data is not currently available for this route. Please check back later.
reviews
Jamiekirk
13 May 2024An excellent walk mostly along good footpaths and cycle paths. The occasional road section but generally with pavements and always safe. Highly recommended for anyone in the area looking for a good walk.
Mary Oz
11 Oct 2023I’ve been looking forward to walking this route for a while, and it doesn’t disappoint!
From Portishead, I walk alongside a drainage channel on a nice off-road path, and then I walk through a wetland nature reserve. After a quiet lane I've done two miles. There are lots of walkers, runners and dog walkers. The section of road through Sheepway has only an occasional pavement (used for parking cars of course) but the road is pretty quiet and the drivers are otherwise well behaved. The regular bus comes along here too.
As I reach the bridleway and cycle track, the sound of the M5 becomes apparent I pass a huge storage yard for new cars and vans (look at it on satellite view and gawp), and in the distance I can see cranes and ships on the river. I find myself walking a little green oasis corridor in the middle of an industrial estate with the noise of the M5 and the factories humming. I cross the road using the former railway bridge of the disused railway line. This is exciting because the tracks are still there! I'm glad the route didn't try and cross the road using the official green dotted lines on the OS map.
A little later, part of the tracks have been lifted to allow the passage of thousands of 4x4 tanks (sorry, cars) from the enormous storage yard.
After crossing under the motorway, right beside the rail tracks, I stop and chat with a local cyclist, having his lunch.
There are steps at Pill Wharf but I think they are avoidable. (Before walking under the viaduct, I divert uphill to look at the former Pill railway station – there are plans to reopen a station here for passengers by reopening the line to Portishead. I guess this may affect this route but they would probably have to maintain foot and wheel routes. I also took a diversion to the Anchor pub for some lunch, but returned to the route where I left it.)
The route is mostly easy to follow but there are one or two query points. In the park to the east of Pill I have to walk the path that is slightly to the north along the brown spots line on OS, not along the tunnel, which is below and inaccessible, and in use by occasional goods trains!
After Pill, I’m soon walking along the River Avon Estuary. The footpath around the bend in the Avon is quite narrow. There are cyclists and runners but they're all very polite. There has not been much soft ground on this long walk, so my feet have started to ache a bit.
From Sea Mills I start to enter the Clifton Gorge. The path is a little bit lower and I could imagine it occasionally floods and there is no easy escape, so don't do it in bad weather with high tides! The tide is very low when I walk it.
There’s lots of estuary bird life - why do I keep forgetting my binoculars? I see heron, many gulls and hear oyster catchers and possibly peregrines. The A4, on the opposite bank of the river, is getting quite noisy now, although it is the beginning of the rush hour. This walk is taking me such a long time because I keep stopping to look at the views and take pictures! I’ve wanted to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge for decades, so I spend even longer, as I cross underneath it. It’s all so fascinating.
There are now also a lot of quite fast cyclists, not always warning of their presence when they race past from behind me. As I reach the city, it seems that everybody here runs after work. It’s a thoroughly interesting route into Bristol and lovely too – along the harbour, passing SS Great Britain, then passing the cathedral, and finally the bottom of the historic Christmas Steps area, before I reach the bus station.
What a wonderful route!.
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Slow Ways Darren
09 May 2022This is a stunning route from the coast along the River Avon to the bus station at Bristol. Both Portishead and Bristol are well connected for transport links and there are plenty of stops for refreshments along the way.
It is a very stunning route using parts of Sustrans 41 and along the old railway line on the West Bank of The Avon.
It passes alongside the ancient Leigh Woods SSI and then under the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge. The route passes by Bristol Cathedral too.
The path is mostly flat and smooth and easy to traverse.
Highly recommended.
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Danravenellison
04 May 2022I loved walking this Slow Way! Highly recommended.
If you want to explore Bristol.. live in the Bristol area and have never walked from Portishead into the city... or simply need to get between the two places... try this route out. It's a great walk.
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Mockymock
06 Jan 2022This mainly waterside route is a fun mish-mash of the rural, the industrial fringe and the urban. It is good both on foot and on a bike.
Much of it is flat and suitable for wheels that can cope with gravelly paths, a few short slopes, and some muddy and slightly rutted ground at wet times of year. From memory I think there is one big kissing gate that you can fit a bike through near the Sheepway close to Portishead and a narrow section beside the canal under a bridge in Portishead, but that is pretty much it in terms of obstacles.
From Portishead the route starts out through the Portbury Wharf area following the tree-lined course of a drainage canal and then a paved waterfront path overlooking the Severn Estuary, before heading out of town via a gravelled path through a wetland nature reserve.
A lane leads up to a short section of road - the Sheepway - which is a fairly quiet road used by local buses - and an off-road cycle track (route 26) takes you from there to Pill. It passes around the edges of enormous carparks storing vehicles that are imported via the Bristol docks and along the course of a redundant railway track. I think this section is most fun on a bike. It’s a little samey as a walk and there is loads of noise from the M5, but it is a good safe route nonetheless. (you can jump off it at what3word happen.left.tricky and use the minor road Marsh Lane into Easton-in-Gordano if you prefer to make your way into Pill through the village instead)
Pill has a small shopping precinct and pubs, and there the route joins the popular River Avon Trail which meanders several lovely miles to Bristol along the course of the river and through the craggy limestone gorge.
The route into central Bristol is along the north side of the lively Floating Harbour and past Bristol Cathedral. Also an enjoyable walk with waterside pubs and eateries along the way.
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