25th February 2018 - Severn Estuary walk from Blakeney

Carrying on from our previous Severn River walk, here, we decided we would do another one further up the river, seeing as we enjoyed the first one so much. This time we parked in Blakeney. This turned out to be a really good idea as there is a free car park next to the doctor’s surgery. The first part of the walk was along the road down to the river. It’s a very quiet road with only the villages of Etloe and Gatcombe down there. Neither has more than a few houses.

Walking into the light.

You would expect a path next to the river would be flat but this was nothing of the sort. There is a considerable rock face which rises and falls along the river. The train line to Gloucester is carved into the rock below, between the rock and the river. The path is in and out of the trees and into the fields. I must confess we were a little distracted by the scenery and playing with Chuck and didn’t notice where the path went in one of the fields. As a consequence, we took quite a large detour. But the views were amazing in the sunlight.

Looking south down the river.

It was still early in the year and quite cold, so I imagine these fields will be full of cattle in the summer. But we were fine for now. We re-joined the path at Little Hagloe, basically a house. The path leads back down to the railway where we crossed. Again, it gets a little confusing here and we ended up going the wrong way down to the water. A quick hop over a fence and through a field and we were back on track.

Daddy. I thought this walk was meant to be flat?

The path heads up to Doulton Court, which isn’t as impressive as it sounds sadly. From here on in it’s all road for the way back. It isn’t a busy road but the cars that do come down are usually going at a decent pace, so watch your four-legged friend closely. Chuck managed to find a stream which runs next to the road, which was good as it was quite warm for the time of year.

The view over towards Gloucester.

I can’t see this being the last walk out of Blakeney. There is still more river to explore. It’s a very tranquil little part of the world. I imagine it hasn’t always been this way and may have been quite industrialised at some points but thankfully now it is a little haven of peace. A highly recommended walk.

Kids, photos like this should only be taken under supervision of a responsible adult.