The second of the lighthouses, the High Trinity Tower, also built in 1832, stands twenty-five metres tall and more resembles a traditional lighthouse. The light no longer functions and the building has been converted in to domestic accommodation. The third and oldest of the lighthouses, built in 1820, known the 'Short or Round Lighthouse' was originally a four-storey structure, created a by a local vicar who charged passing ships for the service. On the instruction of Trinity House (lighthouse authority), this light was ordered extinguished and subsequently the building was reduced to two-storeys, featuring a crenelated top.
When a walk does not go according to plan, it is easy to beat yourself up about it. Reflecting on yesterday's 'walk on the wild side', it was never that we were lost a such. At all times we knew fairly accurately where we were. Rather it was a case of 'unable to make forward progress'. Now, that sounds better and I don't feel so daft. Today's walk is more straightforward (literally), shorter and all carried out at sea level. For most of the first half of the walk we are on the beach or just above it, later having to cut inland a bit to cross the River Axe and then a short stroll down a creek on the Axe to come in to Weston-Super Mare. The weather forecast is that it is to be very hot and we hope for a cooling breeze. Towards the end of the morning there is an option to walk up to Brean Down, a promontory that extends from the land out in to the sea and on the eastern side overlooks Weston Bay. It would mean walking a circular route and then doubling back on ourselves to return to the river crossing. We never have to look far to find additional miles on our journeys and it is very busy with day walkers so I suspect, given the weather forecast, that we might give it a miss. In our hotel, we avoided the robotic food dispenser and made our own breakfast in the room, porridge and fresh fruit, before hitting the road. It was literally one minute to the beach, where the tide was out and the sands had an endless look to them. In front of us we could see the stark white outlines of one of the three lighthouses that there are at Burnham, all at one time or another guiding ships in to the River Parrett where they go up to reach the port of Bridgwater. The white wooden lighthouse (which has a single red stripe on the front) standing on the beach has nine solid oak legs, is nine metres high and is a Grade II heritage structure. Built in 1832, it has has had a chequered history, being inactive between 1969 and 1993, when it came on line again and it is still in active service. The second of the lighthouses, the High Trinity Tower, also built in 1832, stands twenty-five metres tall and more resembles a traditional lighthouse. The light no longer functions and the building has been converted in to domestic accommodation. The third and oldest of the lighthouses, built in 1820, known the 'Short or Round Lighthouse' was originally a four-storey structure, created a by a local vicar who charged passing ships for the service. On the instruction of Trinity House (lighthouse authority), this light was ordered extinguished and subsequently the building was reduced to two-storeys, featuring a crenelated top. The beach stretched out in front of us and it was difficult to guage how far we were walking. Once you are away from buildings, etc., walking on a long beach like this it is difficult to what progress you are making. You can walk for half an hour and think you are still in the same place. The sand dunes to our right appeared featureless, all of a muchness. In the distance, a headland running across the beach at Berrow offered the only break in the scene and for a while it was far enough away that it never seemed to be any closer. As we progressed to the front, the beach at our back lengthened and it felt like being in a desert. Its like when you hillwalk and you think you see the top of the hill, only to find out there is another peak in front of you. Here, it was thinking you were going to turn a corner and the beach would end, only to find another long stretch of sand in front of you. It is in fact a trick of the horizon and of the mind and really there are no corners. What you need to do is either go in to a cocoon and walk blissfully or have a really interesting and thought provoking conversation with your walking partner. Berrow Flats We were walking in really bright, hot sunshine and by the time we had covered the ten kilometres of sand to the village of Brean, we were in dire need of resfreshments and a second breakfast. Approaching Brean, we saw a van in the distance parked up at the top of the beach that we hoped was a coffee wagon (to far away to be sure). By this time we had decided not to do Brean Down, which meant we would cut off at Diamond Farm to cross the River Axe at the sluice. Although it meant an added mile to the walk there and back, we headed for the wagon where we enjoyed cups of coffee and bacon rolls. With comfortable little chairs in front of the wagon, we ended up spendiing at least an hour sipping coffee and chatting to the owner. In the sunshine and the comfort it required a lot of thought to get up and start walking again. After 'elevenses', we left the beach to walk out to the road and made our way back down the road to the turn off to Diamond Farm to walk across country to the crossing point on the River Axe. As you turn on to the farm road there are caravans as far as the eye can see. Much better if you just shut your eyes until you are beyond them. There has been a lot of work done in the area in recent years to open it up for walking, including putting in new paths and opening up the sluice as a crossing. We were walking on the cycle trail (Brean Down Way)which was probably the driver for all the work. As we walked we spoke to a number of people who advised us that the work has resulted in a lot of people now coming out to Brean from Weston Super Mare which has been good for local businesses. Crossing over the sluice there is a structure called 'The Great Bird Screen of Brean'. It is both an art installation and a practical measure to protect the many birds that nest here. In artistic terms it is designed to look like drift wood that has been heaved up on to the shore, while practically it provides a screen between the many passing tourists and the roosting birds. The sluice marks the tidal limit on the River Axe. The one hundred and fifty metres screen was built by volunteers under the direction of the artist, Katy Hallet. the work at the sluice is part of the Brean Down Way which runs from Weston Super Mare to Brean. Prior to the work being completed the road was closed and a lengthy journey round the Axe was required. After crossing the River Axe the walking took on a different feel as we moved on to the Bleadon Level and moved up on to the sea wall that runs part way down the River Axe before turning in right towards the marina. We spent a bit of time here talking to a man out walking his dog who was very interested in our adventure and we laft him wistful that he had never followed his dreams. We followed the creek that runs off the River Axe in the direction of the marina, admiring the boats on both the creek and the marina. As we walked towards the marina we had nice views of the sail-less windhill and the old church of St Nicholas on top of the hill. After going round the marina, we exited in to the village of Uphill where, after following the road for a very short stretch we moved on to the beach for the final stretch in to Weston Super Mare. Even from the beach, Brean Down dominates the scenery and looks close enough to touch. We had a day off planned here to catch up with some of Joanna's family, so we stopped off in the tourist information centre to check out local busses. Later, we stopped off in a cafe where we enjoyed French patisserie and coffee. We were in Airbnb accommodation and knew we could cook for ourselves, so we shopped for some groceries before headiing off to our digs. It had been a long and hot day and we were relieved to find we had a large and airy bedroom in which to stretch out and rest up before cooking dinner.
1 Comment
Paul
13/2/2022 07:52:50 pm
Brilliant information
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