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Clapton Circuit
Grid
ref: ST 473 739
Introduction
A new circular walk approximately
4.5 km or 3 miles in length has been created in the
Gordano Valley linking the village of Clapton-in-Gordano
with the Avon Wildlife Trust's Clapton Moor Nature
Reserve.
New dedicated rights of way have been
created around the nature reserve and across neighbouring
farmland, and new kissing gates, stiles and footbridges
have been installed to create this new publicly accessible
route. The project was initiated and overseen by the
Avon Wildlife Trust and project managed by the rights-of-way
section at North Somerset Council. The project was made
possible through generous funding from Yansec.
 Virtual Tour
and Guide - Take a virtual tour of the
Gordano Valley and find out more about the wildlife
and history to be found around the circuit
Download - a PDF circuit guide and numbered guides
to take with you on your walk
How to get there
From Portishead take the B3124 towards Clevedon and turn
left at the roundabout by Gordano School. In the village
of Clapton in Gordano take the second road on the right
and the Black Horse Pub is 300 metres on the right.
Park carefully in Wood Lane opposite the pub entrance.
The route
Starting at the Black Horse pub in Clapton in Gordano (1) the circuit is best enjoyed by walking in a clockwise
direction first walking up Wood Lane towards the
motorway bridge. Just before the bridge turn right
by an old cottage with the dates 1766 and 1770 on
the wall (2). Keep to
the left close under the M5 motorway across the first
two stiles. Close to the second stile a hoard of Roman
coins was discovered in 1922. The first part of the
walk is dominated by the noise and sights of the motorway
but after passing Nicholas Wood on the right the route
bears away from the motorway towards the brow of the
hill.
At the brow a magnificent view of the Gordano Valley
reaching out towards Clevedon comes into sight. The
route then descends the hill towards Clapton Church
past Nicholas Wood on the right. Half way down the
slope (3) the entire panorama of the valley is laid
out before you from the cranes and industry of Royal
Portbury Dock, past the growing town of Portishead
and sweeping south westwards past the villages of Weston-
and Walton-in-Gordano to the outskirts of Clevedon.
The route carries on down the hill and joins the church
path at a metal gate. Through the gate turn left up
the hill to look around St Michael's Church (4). Turning
right the walk descends the road from the Church onto
Clevedon Lane and around Clapton Court farm (5).
After passing the farm the footpath turns left and
passes between the cowsheds and a large silo. Go through
the gate at the end (6) and turn right and head up
hill, through a metal gate and over two stiles and
then head for the top of the slope under the motorway
(7). From this point
New Farm is directly below with the Trust's Clapton
Moor reserve beyond. To the right of New Farm is the
site of a coal shaft, part of the 19th century coal
mining activity. Cross two more stiles and head downhill
away from the motorway to continue the circuit. At
the top of the slope an alternative footpath (8) leads
to a footbridge over the M5 and up to Cadbury Camp.
As you walk downhill the valley is once more spread
out before you. Walk to the bottom of the hill with
the woodland on your left, cross a stile into a narrow
field under the wood, and immediately go through a
kissing gate onto Clevedon Lane. Straight across the
road is a narrow gap in the hedge and steps leading
down to a kissing gate and in to Clapton Moor Nature
Reserve (9). This is the start of the newly
dedicated right of way that leads around the reserve
and across adjoining fields to meet the existing rights
of way network at Clapton Drove. The route around the
reserve runs through 10m wide borders to the upper
fields that have been fenced and are managed to provide
feeding habitat for owls and other birds of prey.
On entry to the reserve turn right
and head towards Portishead and the mouth of the valley.
On the left the reserve drops away to the low-lying wet
meadows which are actively managed to encourage waders
including redshank, lapwing, and snipe to breed. The
fields immediately below the path are managed as hay
meadows and contain a diverse range of meadow flowers.
Notice the difference between the small hedge-lined upper
fields and the expansive, lower, wetland area divided
by rhynes.
The path doglegs into the next field and reaches the
main entrance to the reserve (10) from where a permissive
path leads down to a bird watching hide (11). Binoculars
and telescopes are useful aids when using the hide
in order to get close-up views of birds in the lower
wetland fields. Continuing along the top boundary of
the reserve the route passes a pole-mounted barn owl
nest box (12). Barn owls have successfully bred on
the reserve. The route continues round the northeastern
boundary of the reserve dropping down towards the bottom
of the valley floor where a footbridge (13) leads
out of the reserve onto neighbouring farmland. The
field before the footbridge is very tussocky and often
wet and stout shoes or boots are recommended. Another
new length of right-of-way leads from this point bearing
to the right and following the rhyne across the next
two fields to meet the existing right of way network
at Clapton Drove (14).
At this point the circuit continues
along Clapton Drove but walkers can also turn left and
follow the footpath across the valley floor past How
Harm Farm to the quarry cottages at North Weston from
where a footpath leads under Weston Big Wood and eventually
back into Portishead.
The route follows Clapton Drove for
about 700m. On the right through breaks in the hedgerow
the motorway can be seen and Nicholas Wood, Clapton
Court, and Clapton Church stand out clearly on the
opposite side of the valley. Just past the riding stables
a new kissing gate on the right leads to a footpath
across the valley to the outskirts of the village.
Do not take this path but keep on the Drove for a further
400m until another new kissing gate appears on the
right (15). The route
passes through this gate and across the next three
fields before passing through some stabling and finally
through a gate into the yard of the Black Horse Pub.
Hopefully the pub will be open and well-earned refreshments
can be taken!
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