The Gordano Round () is a recreational

Long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...

, running as a figure of eight around the

Gordano Valley Gordano (or the Gordano Valley; ) is an area of North Somerset, in England. It has been designated as a National Nature Reserve. The name Gordano comes from Old English and is descriptive of the triangular shape of the whole valley from Cleved ...

near Portishead in

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non ...

, England.

History

The Gordano Round route was first suggested by Jim Dyer of the Gordano Footpath Group in 1983 and walked by four members of the group in 1984. It was adopted by North Somerset Council as a recreational route and now marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer map 154. The route is described in the book ''The Gordano Round'' first published in 2000. A memorial to Jim Dyer who died in 2012 was set up on the Portishead Coast path on the route in 2014.

Views

The route starts from Portishead and follows the coast path to

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 i ...

with views of Wales and both Severn road crossings. In Clevedon it climbs to the top of Dial Hill affording views as far as the Black Mountains in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Brean Down Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset, England, standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea. Made of Carboniferous Limestone, it is a c ...

and the

Mendips The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

to the South. Crossing over to the

Clevedon Court Clevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early 14th century. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated as a Grade I listed building. The house was built and added to over man ...

Woods (above the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property) and the Court Woods, there are new views across the Gordano Valley as it climbs to the Iron Age

Cadbury Camp Cadbury Camp is an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset, England, near the village of Tickenham. It is a scheduled monument. Although primarily known as a fort during the Iron Age it is likely, from artefacts, including a bronze spear or axe head, dis ...

. Dropping back into the valley it reaches the 14th century Black Horse pub before climbing up to the highest point on the route at in

Failand Failand is a village in Somerset, England. It lies within the civil parish of Wraxall and Failand and the unitary authority area of North Somerset. The village has two separate parts. Failand itself is on the B3128 Bristol to Clevedon road, and ...

with more views over the Severn Estuary and Wales. Back across on the Northern side of the valley, the route passes the Black Rock quarry with its old workings before returning to the start in Portishead.

Places of interest

The trail runs in a figure of eight from Portishead, North Somerset via

Clapton in Gordano Clapton in Gordano is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated within the unitary authority of North Somerset on the southern side of the Gordano Valley, immediately adjacent to the M5 motorway. The parish has a population ...

and

Abbots Leigh Abbots Leigh is a village and civil parish in North Somerset, England, about west of the centre of Bristol. History The original Middle English name was ''Lega'', and the village became Abbots Leigh in the mid-12th century when Robert Fitzhardi ...

. It passes numerous places of interest, including

Battery Point Battery Point is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is immediately south of the central business district. It is in the local government area of City of Hobart. Battery Point is named after the battery of guns which were est ...

, the site of an English Civil War fort, Black Nore Lighthouse,

Clevedon Pier Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the Severn Estuary. It was described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in 2 ...

and the Black Horse Pub in Clapton, a 14th Century public house.

Other recreational use

*Besides being popular with walkers, the Gordano Round is also well used by runners and 2015 saw the first running of a marathon race organised by Portishead Running Club on 14 November.

References

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External links