Everything about The Bristol Channel totally explained
The
Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of
Great Britain, separating
South Wales from
Devon and
Somerset in
South West England, and extending from the lower
estuary of the
River Severn (
Afon Hafren) to that part of the
North Atlantic Ocean known as the
Celtic Sea (
Môr Celtaidd). It takes its name from the
English city of
Bristol and is over 30 miles (50 km) across at its widest point.
The lower limit of the Bristol Channel is drawn between
St Govans Head in
Pembrokeshire,
Lundy Island, and
Hartland Point in
Devon. The upper limit is between
Sand Point, Somerset and
Lavernock Point in South Wales. East of this line is the
Severn estuary. Western and Northern
Pembrokeshire and North
Cornwall are outside of the limit of the Bristol Channel, and are considered part of the seaboard of the
Atlantic Ocean, although
Bude in North Cornwall during the industrial era was often called by sailors on their way to
Cardiff as "the gateway/entrance to the Bristol Channel".
The Bristol Channel, on both the South Wales and West Country sides, has more miles of
Heritage Coast seaboard than any other stretch of water in the United Kingdom. Heritage coastlines include
Exmoor,
Bideford Bay, the
Hartland Point peninsula,
Lundy Island,
Glamorgan,
Gower peninsula,
South Pembrokeshire and
Caldey Island.
In 2004, The Times "Travel" magazine selected
Barafundle Bay in Pembrokeshire as one of the best 12 best beaches in the world. In 2007
Oxwich Bay made the same aforementioned magazine's Top 12 best beaches in the world list, and was also selected as Britain's best beach for 2007. The Bristol Channel and nearby Celtic Sea beaches of Wales, North Devon and North Cornwall are acknowledged by many travel magazine writers as the best in the U.K. for sand and water quality.
Ecology
At low
tide large parts of the channel become
mud flats due to the
tidal range of, second only to
Bay of Fundy in
Eastern Canada. The Bristol Channel is an important area for wildlife, in particular
waders, and has protected areas, including
National Nature Reserves such as
Bridgwater Bay at the mouth of the
River Parrett. Development schemes have been proposed along the channel, including an airport and a tidal barrier for electricity generation, but conservation issues have so far managed to block such schemes.
Major islands in the Bristol Channel are
Lundy,
Steep Holm and
Flat Holm. The islands and headlands provide some shelter for the upper reaches of the channel from storms. These islands are mostly uninhabited and protected as nature reserves, and are home to some unique wild flower species. In 1971 a proposal was made by the Lundy Field Society to establish a marine reserve. Provision for the establishment of statutory Marine Nature Reserves was included in the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and on
21 November 1986 the
Secretary of State for the Environment announced the designation of a statutory reserve at Lundy. There is an outstanding variety of marine habitats and wildlife, and a large number of rare and unusual species in the waters around Lundy, including some species of
seaweed,
branching sponges,
sea fans and
cup corals.
The Bristol Channel has superb beaches and spectacular scenery, particularly on the coast of
Exmoor and
Bideford Bay in
North Devon and the likes of the
Vale of Glamorgan and the
Gower peninsula on the Glamorgan coast. The western stretch of Exmoor boasts
Hangman cliffs, the highest cliffs in mainland Britain, culminating near
Combe Martin in the gigantic 'Great Hangman', a 1043 ft (318 m) 'hog-backed' hill with a cliff-face of 820 ft (250 m); its sister cliff 'The Little Hangman' has a cliff-face of 716 ft (218 m). On the
Gower peninsula, at its western extremity is the Worms Head, a serpent shaped island of
carboniferous limestone which is approachable at low tide only. The beaches of Gower (at
Rhossili, for example) and North Devon's
Bideford Bay (and
Woolacombe for example) win awards for their water quality and setting, as well as their excellent
surfing.
The recognised eastern demarcation between the Bristol channel and the Severn estuary is a notional line drawn between Lavernock point in South Wales and Sand point in North Somerset.
One of the unqiue features of Wales and the West Country is that, apart from the north-facing hog-back cliffs of Exmoor, a good chunk of Wales and the West Country is a west-facing, Atlantic facing coastline meaning that a combination of a off-shore (east) wind and a generous Atlantic swell produces excellent surf along the beaches of the Heritage coasts of the Vale of Glamorgan, Bideford Bay and Gower and, along with the Atlantic coasts of Pembrokeshire and Cornwall, the Bristol Channel coasts are the epicentre for surfing in the whole of Britain. Although slightly overshadowed by the Atlantic coasts of North Cornwall and West Pembrokeshire, both Gower and Bideford Bay netherless have several superb breaks - notably
Croyde in Bideford Bay and
Langland Bay on Gower - and surfing in Gower and Bideford Bay is enhanced by the golden beaches, clean blue waters, excellent water quality and good facilities close by to the main surf breaks.
Coastal cities and towns
The Bristol Channel is a dangerous area of water because of its strong tides and the rarity of havens on the north Cornish and north Devon coasts that can be entered in all states of the tide. A sailor's rhyme goes "Twixt Hartland Point and Padstow Bay is a sailor's grave by night or day." Because of the treacherous waters, pilotage is an essential service for shipping. A specialised style of sailing boat the
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter developed in the area.
In the Severn estuary above
Avonmouth, river rescue is provided by
Severn Area Rescue Association, while in
Burnham-on-Sea the Burnham-On-Sea Area Rescue Boat (BARB)
(External Link
) uses a hovercraft to rescue people from the treacherous mud flats on that part of the coast. A hovercraft was recently tested to determine the feasibility of setting up a similar rescue service in
Weston-super-Mare.
The city of
Bristol, situated on the
River Avon, gives its name to the Channel and was once one of the most important
ports in Britain. There are still docks in the city centre, but these are largely now given over to leisure use. Bristol's dock activity has now been transferred to the nearby Severn estuary at
Avonmouth Docks and
Royal Portbury Dock. Resort towns on the Bristol Channel include Weston-super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea,
Watchet,
Minehead and
Porlock in
Somerset; and
Ilfracombe,
Bideford and
Barnstaple in
Devon.
The Welsh capital,
Cardiff, is on the northern side of the estuary, with
Cardiff Bay protected behind the
Cardiff Bay Barrage. Further west is the city of
Swansea with a fine marina. Important ports on the Welsh coast include
Milford Haven, a major oil import terminal. Resort towns and villages on the Welsh coastline include Penarth,
Llantwit Major,
Mumbles and
Barry with
Barry Island.
Transport
Road and Rail
There are no road or rail crossings of the Bristol Channel. The bridges and tunnel of the
Severn crossing are located near the point at which the
River Severn becomes generally known as the
Severn Estuary.
Paddle steamers
P and A Campbell of
Bristol were the main operators of pleasure craft and particularly
paddle steamers, from the mid-1800s to the late 1970s, also the
Barry Railway Company. These served harbours along both coasts, such as
Ilfracombe,
Clevedon and
Weston-super-Mare.
This tradition is continued each summer by the
PS Waverley, the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world (built in 1947). The steamer provides pleasure trips between the Welsh and English coasts and to the islands of the channel.
Severn Barrage
The proposed
Severn Barrage could, under some proposals, include a third road crossing.
1607 flood
» Main article: Bristol Channel floods, 1607
On
30 January 1607 (New style) thousands of people were drowned, houses and villages swept away, farmland inundated and flocks destroyed when a
flood hit the shores of the channel. The devastation was particularly bad on the
Welsh side from
Laugharne in
Carmarthenshire to above
Chepstow on the English border.
Cardiff was the most badly affected town. There remain plaques up to 8 ft (2.4 m) above sea level to show how high the waters rose on the sides of the surviving churches. It was commemorated in a contemporary pamphlet "
God's warning to the people of England by the great overflowing of the waters or floods."
The cause of the flood is disputed: it had long been believed that the floods were caused by a combination of
meteorological extremes and
tidal peaks, but research published in 2002 has shown evidence of a
tsunami in the Channel.
Religion
In 1835
John Ashley was on the shore at
Clevedon with his son who asked him how the people on
Flat Holm could go to church. For the next three months Ashley voluntarily ministered to the population of the island. From there he recognised the needs of the seafarers on the four hundred sailing vessels in the Bristol Channel and created the Bristol Channel Mission. He raised funds and in 1839 a specially designed mission cutter was built with a main cabin which could be converted into a chapel for 100 people, this later became first initiative of the
Mission to Seafarers.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bristol Channel'.
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