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Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownShirehampton and Avonmouth. NearbyStation Road, Henbury, is served by moredirect buses running to Cribbs Causeway viaWestbury-on-Trym.Walk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castleand Kings Weston DownLast updated: September 2020Approx. Time: 3 hoursApprox. Distance: 5.3 milesThe sprawling Blaise Castle Estate is a greatasset to north Bristol, providing a large anddiverse country park within the city limits. Aswell as recreational grassy areas, the estatehas extensive woodlands, a lovely river valleyand one of the best children’s playgrounds inthe whole city. There are also several builtfeatures of interest, including the originalhouse (now a museum), a castle folly and anhistoric mill. Nearby Kings Weston Down isalso part of the estate, a linear landscapefeature in an elevated position.The RouteOur route starts at the main Blaise CastleEstate car park on Kings Weston Road, next toa broad and attractive grassy area, borderedby woodland, which is the recreational heartof the estate.This walk takes in most of the main built andnatural features of the estate. Outside theestate, it also includes Henbury village and thefairytale oddity of Blaise Hamlet. The walkdoes not include the section of the estate tothe east of the Hazel Brook valley, a quieterarea which is worthy of further exploration todiscover it on your own – including twointeresting lodges on the main drive.The open grassy area at the entrance to BlaiseCastle EstateIn order to include the full length of KingsWeston Down, the circuit includes a fairly longon-road section, most of which is not thatexciting; however, an optional shortcut isprovided that cuts much of it out, at the costof missing out on most of the Down.Take the footpath from the southeast cornerof the car park, passing an interestingsculpture of a dog made from machine parts(1).You will quickly find yourself passing theestate’s café and toilets.Useful InformationTerrain: A mix of flat ground and hills, somequite steep. Includes some steps.Ground: Includes extensive unpaved sections,some of which are uneven and/or may havesoft or loose surfaces.The café at Blaise Castle Estate is one ofthe most convenient places on this walk to geta snack or a non-alcoholic drink.Just beyond the café is the large Blaise Castleplay area. This fantastic resource hassomething for children of all ages.Key Attractions: Blaise Castle Estate, BlaiseCastle play area, Blaise Hamlet, Blaise CastleMuseum, Blaise Castle, Stratford Mill,Coombe Dingle, Kings Weston Down.Now we have to leave the estate for a shortwhile to explore some of the historic featuresof Henbury Village. We will return to theestate fairly shortly.Refreshments: Café at Blaise Castle Estateand pubs in Henbury village.Starting point: Blaise Castle Estate car park,Kings Weston RoadGetting there: Kings Weston Road is served bybuses to Cribbs Causeway running viaTurn left on a path running between the caféand the play area to exit the estate onto KingsWeston Road (2).1
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownTurn right along Kings Weston Road. When apavement appears on the other side, carefullycross the road and continue towards the nextjunction.Busy Kings Weston Road carries a lot oftraffic, but has a leafy feel thanks to the stonewall and mature trees that border the playarea.Blaise HamletWhen you’re done, return via the same gateto Hallen Road (3). Carefully cross the roadand then turn right, returning to the KingsWeston Road junction. Bear left into HenburyRoad.This part of Henbury Road is the main streetof old Henbury Village. It is home to a numberof old village houses and the stables entranceto Blaise Castle Estate at the top end ofChurch Lane (4).Trees along Kings Weston RoadAt the junction, turn left into Hallen Road.Cross the end of Castle Close and then gothrough the gate a few metres further downthe hill to reach Blaise Hamlet (3).Bear left and continue down the village street.The impact of the period setting is diminishedby the one-way traffic that flies up the road,but the village still has its charms.An extraordinary picturesque oddity, BlaiseHamlet consists of nine detached cottagesbuilt around a village green with no roadaccess. Each house has its own unique design,but they are united by their tall chimneys. Thecottages were built in the 19th Century by theowner of Blaise Castle Estate to provideaccommodation for his servants when theyretired. These days, the cottages are still livedin but the hamlet is looked after by theNational Trust. Take a walk around theperimeter path to get a better look at thequaint little houses and their well-tendedEnglish country gardens.On Henbury Road you will find the BlaiseInn, which is the more traditional option out ofthe two pubs in this area.The centre of Henbury villageAt the bottom of the hill, just before you reacha mini roundabout, turn right into the bottomend of Church Lane (5).2
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownChurch Lane presents a quieter face ofHenbury village than the main road. It climbspast Henbury Village Hall (6) until – via ChurchClose – you reach St. Mary’s Church, theparish church of Henbury.The churchyard of St. Mary’s Church, with itsimposing war memorial, is a peaceful andcontemplative space.Blaise Castle MuseumAs you pass the house and return to the mainopen grassy area, search the skyline of thewoods ahead of you. At certain times of year,you may just be able to pick out the turrets ofBlaise Castle itself at the top of the hill. If not,don’t worry, you will see it properly soonenough.St. Mary’s Church, HenburyPassing the house, bear left onto the MainDrive (7) so that you descend gently towardsthe woods.The final pub option on this walk is theHenbury Arms, a modern chain pub / carverythat is a short walk away down RectoryGardens, which is accessible from the bottomcorner of the churchyard, directly below thechurch itself.As you cross the open area, note thehandsome Orangery at the back of the houseon the left.At the very edge of the woods, turn right ontothe path that runs along the woodland edgeof the grassy area (8).Make a clockwise circuit around the outside ofthe church, noting the inviting lanes andfootpaths that you pass on the way, thenreturn to Henbury Village Hall (6). Turn leftalong the top section of Church Lane to returnto the stables entrance to Blaise Castle Estateon Henbury Road (4). Turn left through theopen gates to enter the estate.The path up to the castle from this end can bea little difficult to find, so pay close attention.After a short while, the path enters thetreeline. You will pass a small marker showinga crude picture of a castle. The path thenbears right and immediately left.The rear driveway, bounded on both sides bytall trees and high stone walls, is an invitingand intriguing way to return to Blaise CastleEstate. You will pass the stables and will sooncome upon the Georgian elegance of thehouse itself, now Blaise Castle Museum.You will quickly reach a point where two pathsturn left into the woods next to each other(9). The first, an earthen path, is signed withanother small marker. The second, a gravelpath, is marked by the dead remains of an oaktree.3
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston Downyou will cross the end of a carriage drive thattraverses the side of the hill (10).Cross the carriage drive. Continue past thetree stump and go straight up the earthenpath beyond, passing redwood trees, to reachCastle Hill (11).Two paths lead into the woodsTake the first path, the earthen path with thesmall marker.Almost immediately you will come upon athird small marker on the right hand side ofthe path.Look to the right at this marker and, a fewmetres up the hill, you should see thebeginnings of a rough stairway leading upthrough the trees.Turn right and make for this staircase.Continue past the tree stumpCastle Hill is a sunny clearing containing, ofcourse, Blaise Castle itself. Effectively asummerhouse or folly, the owner of theestate would entertain their guests at thisunusual spot. The castle is occasionally opento the visitors, allowing you to climb to theramparts for great views over the estate andthe Severn Estuary.Look for the stairway hidden in the woodsabove the markerThe stairway becomes a bit more substantialafter a while. As you climb through the trees,Blaise Castle4
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownWhen you’re ready to move on, place the frontdoors to Blaise Castle behind you and descendthe short earthen slope opposite to reach aviewpoint with a metal fence (12).The path continues down through an areacarpeted with periwinkles. Ignore all of theinformal and occasionally treacherous sidepaths and shortcuts. At length you willdescend a short flight of steps to rejoin themain drive on the way down into the valley(14).This is Lovers’ Leap, a view-commanding spotat the top of a cliff overlooking the valley ofthe Hazel Brook. The views down the valleyare far-reaching. On the far side of the valleyyou will see Goram’s Chair, resembling athrone made of rock, named for one of thetwo legendary giants who are said to have dugthis valley and also the nearby Avon Gorge intribute to a lady.The path down through the periwinklesTurn right down the main drive, descendinginto the valley.The main drive will take you to a bridge overthe Hazel Brook at the bottom of its steepsided valley (15) – sometimes called HenburyGorge, and more commonly known asCoombe Dingle.The view from Lovers’ Leap, with Goram’sChair on the leftTake the earthen path that traverses the steephillside on the left.Off to the left you will see historic StratfordMill with its surviving water wheel. The milloriginally stood on the River Chew in theSomerset village of Moreton, but wasdismantled and moved to this location whenthe decision was made to flood the village tocreate Chew Valley Lake. These days, the millstands slightly forlorn, and could do withsome sensitive work to refurbish it and revealits history.Beware of uneven ground and steep drop-offsas you tackle this section. The path descendsalong the side of a very pleasant, light and airysouth-facing woodland slope overlooking thevalley. After a short while you will pass aviewpoint with a bench, and then a small cavelined with a stone seat (13).After crossing the bridge (15), turn right tofollow the pedestrian and cycle path on downthe valley, keeping the brook to your right.The path through the rocky, wooded valley islikely to be pretty busy, as the broad path andshallow brook are extremely popular withfamilies and dog walkers.After a while, the valley opens out a bitaround the first of a series of pretty ponds.The ponds are lined with bamboo and featurean attractive packhorse style bridge (16).The cave on the way down through the woods5
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownGardens on the right, you will soon reach theCoombe Dingle car park.Walk through the car park and turn right ontoThe Dingle (19).The packhorse style bridge over the pondsDo not cross the water here. Continue alongthe main path, keeping the water to yourright.Beyond the ponds, the path climbs againtowards an area known as the BeechCathedral (17) – which is, as you might expect,planted with tall, handsome beech trees.Walking along The DingleWe have now embarked upon the on-roadsection of this walk that will eventually leadyou to Kings Weston Down. The Dingle gets itoff to a great start, continuing the secludedleafy feel and dappled light of the river valley.You will climb gently out of the valley untilyou reach the higher ground of the residentialarea at the top.You will descend again past another pleasantpond.At the top of the hill take the first right, thebroad junction for Grove Road (20), whichheads in among the houses.Grove Road is by far the most interesting partof the on-road section of this walk. The roadwinds through a loose layout of detachedhouses, the first few of which are quite grand.Pavements along the road are intermittentand parts are bounded by stone walls andhigh hedges, which makes it feel more like acountry lane than a suburban street.The lower pond at Coombe DingleContinue to stay on the main path, avoidingside turnings.After a short while, Grove Road straightensout and begins to climb gently towards KingsWeston Down. The road intermittently opensout and narrows down again, sometimesthreatening to disappear completely.Periodically, footpaths and lanes leading off tothe right provide routes back into BlaiseCastle Estate.After a while, the main path will finally takeyou across the Hazel Brook. A few metresfurther down, a sunken bridge to the left (18)marks the point where the Hazel Brook finallymerges with and becomes the River Trym,bound for the Avon Gorge via Sea Mills.You will now be walking past a sunkenmeadow, with the river largely out of viewbeyond it. Passing the backs of the steeplysloping woodland plots of Pitchcombe6
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownClimbing Grove RoadSkyline view from Westbury LaneContinue climbing Grove Road until you reachthe junction with Arbutus Drive (21). ArbutusDrive is the third left, forming a crossroadswith Chardstock Avenue, at the beginning of awider section of Grove Road just after a longnarrow section with no pavements.You will eventually reach a complex junctionwith Shirehampton Road and Kings WestonRoad (22).Turn right onto the pavement on the righthand side of Kings Weston Road. It will soontake you up above road level so that youapproach an old iron footbridge (23).Shortcut routeThis bridge, which connects Blaise CastleEstate with the grounds of Kings WestonHouse (see Walk Thirty-Two ‘Shirehamptonand Kings Weston House’), has been closedfor years following a vehicle strike. Localpeople have been campaigning to get itrepaired for almost as long.The remaining on-road section of the mainroute is not very exciting. If you don’t mindmissing out a large part of Kings WestonDown, you can avoid it.Continue straight on up the last section ofGrove Road. Eventually the road will end andturn into a track.Turn right onto a track that climbs through thewoods, passing a large house to the left.Follow this track up through an area ofwoodland. Avoid any side turnings in thewoods and you will soon come out on thegrassy area of Kings Weston Down (25) a littleto the west of the hill fort.To continue following the main route, turn leftdown Arbutus Drive.Arbutus Drive is an ordinary suburban streetof between-the-wars semi-detached houses.At the end of the road, turn right ontoWestbury Lane.Westbury Lane is more of a main road,carrying traffic from Westbury-on-Trym in thedirection of Shirehampton and Kings Weston.As you climb the hill, glance back at the leafyskyline behind you. Eventually, the modernbuildings of Southmead Hospital will appear,standing like a citadel in the distance.Follow the track up into the woodsA signpost will soon announce your return toBlaise Castle Estate. The track meandersthrough the woods before eventually comingout in a grassy area (24).This is Kings Weston Down, a long grassyridge lined with woodlands, which will take7
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston Downyou all the way back to the main central partof Blaise Castle Estate.Continue along Kings Weston Down in thedirection of Blaise Castle until you pass anembankment.You have reached Kings Weston Hill, theremains of an Iron Age hill fort.Go through a small opening into the woods onthe left, next to the remains of an iron fence orgate (26).Arriving at Kings Weston DownMake your way through the middle of thegrassy area, following the ridge line.You will quickly pass the main landmark ofthis area, a television transmitter mast whichlies within the woodland to the right.The hidden entrance to the woods at KingsWeston HillThe grassy area winds at first around the startof the ridge, intermittently getting narrower.After a while it opens out into a wider,straight section.The path will take you to a broad stairwayleading down through a fairly open area ofwoodland.This area is at its best in the spring, when theearly grassland flowers such as cowslips maketheir appearance, but is pleasant at any timeof year.At length, you will cross a trodden path acrossthe grassy area (25). The shortcut routerejoins the main route here, emerging fromthe woodlands on the right.The shortcut route rejoins the main route viathe footpath from the rightThe path down from Kings Weston Hill8
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownKeep going straight on until you reach a pathleading out into the open (27). Turn left into agrassy area, passing the dead remains of twolarge trees.Walk past the dead treesYou have returned to the main open area ofBlaise Castle Estate.Simply follow the grassy area on round thecorner, keeping the woods to your right.The car park will come into view in thedistance. Cross the grassy area to return tothe car park and complete Walk TwentyThree.Coming UpIn Walk Twenty-Four ‘Stoke Bishop and SneydPark’ we will visit some of north Bristol’sleafiest streets and then get to know some ofthe fascinating nature reserves andwoodlands on the east side of the AvonGorge.9
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston DownWalk Twenty-Three: Map10
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston Down11
Mike’s Bristol WalksWalk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston Down12
Sep 01, 2020 · Walk Twenty-Three: Blaise Castle and Kings Weston Down 2 Turn right along Kings Weston Road. When a pavement appears on the other side, carefully cross the road and continue towards the next junction. Busy Kings Weston Road carries a lot of traffic, but has a leafy feel thanks to t
