Bristol is one of the best cities in the world for exploring on foot and the Severn Beach Line - once hailed as one of Britain's most scenic railways - is the gateway to some of its finest sights. The walks in this guide range from short strolls exploring Georgian crescents and city parks to all-day excursions through ancient woodlands, eighteenth-century estates and spectacular river gorges. Among the places visited are St Anne's Woods, Arno's Vale, the Floating Harbour, Royate Hill, the Frome Valley, St Paul's, Kingsdown, Montpelier, Redland and Cotham, St Werburgh's, Purdown, Stoke Park, Frenchay, Oldbury Court, Westbury on Trym, Clifton and Hotwells, Leigh Woods, Coombe Dingle, Blaise Castle, Kingsweston, Bishop's Knoll, Pill and Paradise Bottom, Patchway and the Three Brooks, and Ashton Court, while the final walk heads from Severn Beach over the Severn Bridge to the Wales Coast Path. With a brief history of the Severn Beach Line and a description of a journey along it, this book is an indispensable companion not only for anyone lucky enough to live near the line, but also for anyone who can catch a train to Bristol and explore it from there.
Author Biography:
Dr Andrew Swift has written extensively on the Victorian and Edwardian periods, having studied English literature at Oxford and McMaster Universities, and the history of English Art of the 18th and 19th centuries at Birmingham University. He is particularly interested in the history of railways, and is a member of the Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society (BIAS). With his wife, Kirsten Elliott, he has also made a study of pub history in Bath and beyond.
