I wonder if it's worth investigating an alternative which turns left at Hill Farm before the ascent to the Trig Point and heads along Barton Drove towards Barton - thus avoiding the steep descent. And here is caveat two: The descent from Hutton Hill was also very steep and narrow and extremely overgrown (enough to not be completely clear if there was indeed a path anymore and I wasn't just walking into a thick fern bush) Not pleasant walking, but not for _too_ long - and not something that those of us who are experienced walkers haven't come across before. I've really struggled with what star rating to give this route - the good bits are *really* good, and most of the walk is somewhere between good and great....

panifex

I’d probably say even if on an off-road bike I’d definitely not recommend biking up or down Poet’s Walk at the Clevedon end (for both your safety and more importantly the safety of others), but instead stick to Salthouse Road and Old Church Road to divert and re-join the mapped trail. I’d probably say if you are biking I’d either stay on Kewstoke Road and not pop down to Sandbay, or if you are wanting a refreshment stop at the hotel, then defo backtrack up Beach Road to rejoin Kewstoke Road as opposed to attempting to ride / push your bike up through the woods! If you’re travelling in the opposite direction to me (so Weston to Clevedon) and on a bike and tempted to cycle down through the woods, I’d probably book in a pre-emptive consultation at A&E ahead of starting the descent....

MHuz

No brainer to improve this lovely walk by taking the beach route....

Steve_Roser

It also takes a quieter route to the station at Weston instead of going round by the town centre. You can just carry on up the esplanade if you do want to go into town....

Mockymock

Mid/late afternoon walk provides lovely photo opportunities of Clevedon Pier....

Samantha Samuel

The Slow Way then dives into a footpath next to a pony paddock (photo 2) which leads around towards Weston Milton station, where it crosses the railway and picks up the well-signed cycle route 33. This then wriggles through several kilometres of pleasant linear park (photos 3,4,5), with occasional road crossings, pretty much all the way to Worle railway station, where it crosses car parks and goes back over the railway line on a convoluted footbridge (photo 6). It stays on cycle route 33 for a short while longer, rounding the corner of a big edge-of-town shopping area - supermarkets, fast food etc - before departing it to head out to the edge of town on a nice route along a green road edge by a waterway (photo 7) and through a park. After this the Slow Way crosses a minor road and picks up a very enjoyable multi-user off-road section of the Pier to Pier cycleway to cross the River Yeo (photos 10 and 11). There follows a mile or so of walking on quiet minor roads between here and Kingston Seymour before the route goes off-road again at Yew Tree Farm, by the edge of the village....

Mockymock

The Pier to Pier Way joins at Lyefield Road and there's a parallel footpath on the east side until Bluebell Road. When you reach the right-angled bend in Lower Strode Road (51.42, -2.87) the Pier to Pier Way turns left to head for the coast path which has good sea views en-route to the pier. I'd done this section before and was aiming for the town centre, so stayed on Lower Strode Road/Strode Road passing the ASDA supermarket and used Coleridge Vale Road North to get to the centre....

JohnMyerson

The walk through Weston Wood was great, and it was a shame when that ended and it became a busy but manageable road walk through Kewstoke. The section along Ebdon Road needed caution and patience after the housing estate - a busy road round a sharp turn - but it didn’t last long!...

panifex

My three star rating feels a bit mean because some of it is really great but it is not the most direct route and too much is on roads for my liking (about 5 and half miles of it). However, while a sizeable proportion of the very best off-road route between these two towns still lies along an unopened section of the England Coast Path (which has cleared planning now so is coming), this is a good route which I would use in the meantime. The route over Wain's Hill and along the coast from Clevedon is beautiful with wide views across the Bristol Channel and lots of birds to see on the mudflats in winter. Also off-road and very enjoyable is the new multiuser cycle route between the turn to Yeo Bank Farm and Icelton....

Mockymock

No disrespect to Tony Parsons on this route generally but the plot is wrong at the new section of cycle path around Tutshill Sluice, routing the Slow Way incorrectly through Yeo Bank Farm. I will share a more accurate one as Wescle four and review that....

Mockymock

I can see no sense in walking along boring roads at the start when it is possible to follow the coast path along the estuary and beach. If you want a more direct route, you can follow one of the other options inland. Can this route be amended?...

Steven Melia

The Yatton meeting point is on the west side of the station, and our route starts by using the road bridge to the north to return to the east side - those who can handle steps can shortcut this using the station footbridge. The road is busy so take care crossing - either at the junction with Old Weston Road or a littlle further back, where there is a central refuge but using it means a few meters of road walking....

Hugh Hudson

The really steep muddy climb south of Hutton can be avoided using the Hutton millennium green footpath linking with Canada Combe - you do miss a delightful woodland stroll though at the top....

Chris

It is a top-quality five-star hilly hike for the seven or eight miles between Axbridge and the edge of Weston at Oldmixon, which is then brought down a star by a sudden switch to a tramp through Weston’s urban sprawl for the remaining couple of miles. Signage isn’t brilliant here and access is mostly through ordinary field gates, but the route through is pretty obvious. It is then all-change at the bottom of the hill at Oldmixon as the route transitions very suddenly from a Mendip hill walk to a thoroughly urban route. Access on the rural portion of the route includes gates, kissing gates, a few stiles and footbridges. The urban portion of the route is flat and almost all paved, with a couple of short slopes to access railway crossings and, as I remember it, the route looks mainly wheelable, although there may be one or two motorbike deterrent-type barriers across footpaths....

Mockymock

The route into/out of Axbridge uses the excellent Strawberry Line railway path, but at w3w reach.hammer.stunt where there appears to be a junction between the railway path and the bridlepath to/from Wavering down to the west, the railway path is in a cutting and entering a tunnel, and the bridlepath is many many metres up a rockface above it.........

Mockymock

A tour of faded victoriana and seaside nature. Actually rather lovely especially near to Uphill....

Steve_Roser

Basically a great coastal route, much of it using cycle route 33 and a lot of it along beaches. The route is bookended by the two seafront promenades of Burnham and Weston, which provide all the usual seaside facilities and will be busy busy busy if it is a sunny weekend or the school holidays. The second is that the southern end of the mapped route bafflingly eschews the stretch of cycle route 33 and England Coast Path along the sands between Berrow and Burnham, instead offering a boring, trafficky 2km trek along the main road through suburbs and a path across the golf course....

Mockymock

The next couple of miles are still on-road, firstly along a quiet, bendy lane with a grass verge for much of the way, and then a slightly livelier minor road from Bourton to Hewish (the most direct way to get across the M5 on foot in this area). The route then crosses back north over the A370 near Congesbury (passing a garage with a shop) and uses the lovely Strawberry Line cycle path for the last mile and a half or so to Yatton Station....

Mockymock

I have tried to do it myself in the past and the lack of public access to the sea wall, the lack of a public right of way across the River Yeo, plus the blocking presence of the M5 in the area make it a serious challenge. There is also no public right of way over the suggested route along the river wall of the Yeo north of the Oldbridge River ditch in the same area....

Mockymock

The crossing of the M5 doesn't exist (its a gated pipeline crossing) and the crossing at junction 21 has no footpath and would be considered dangerous....

Chris

I agree with the previous reviewer about this route and would add that well over a mile of it is along the A370 - a busy main road. There is a (not especially generous) pavement along it for pedestrians but fast traffic and big lorries go thundering by, making for very unpleasant walking. I would not recommend this route....

Mockymock

The route across the M5 motorway doesn't exist and the closest crossing is the M5/A370 interchange and is not open to pedestrians. The alternative route is to follow national cycleway 33 - an extension to the route on quiet roads...

Chris

Great walk following the cycle route 33 taking in wetlands, beaches and sites of historical and natural interest. Relatively flat route with lots of picturesque stopping points....

Icarus5827