I had only ever seen the route from the window of the train to Severn Beach - I didn’t know you could walk it until I saw the details on the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) website. It takes only four minutes by train from Sea Mills to Shirehampton but I decided to take the hour-long scenic route on foot instead.
This riverside walk is part of the Severn Way and it follows the River Avon as well as the railway line.
The FOSBR website is run by the enthusiastic local group who campaign for railways to be at the core of an integrated transport network for Bristol, Bath and the West of England.
They have come up with a series of excellent walks, with detailed routes and maps, and it was the hour-long Sea Mills to Shirehampton walk that caught my eye.
I’m not sure how popular the walk is but I only encountered two people with a dog in the course of the hour.
It’s a reasonably straightforward walk although one section involves quite a few steep steps so anybody with mobility issues will find it tricky towards the end.
Here are 9 photos from this stunning walk along the River Avon - and there’s a pub at the end of it, too.
1. Severn Way
2. Starting point
The starting point is the tiny Sea Mills railway station on the Severn Beach line, next to the crumbling 17th-century harbour at the mouth of the River Trym.
3. Wildlife
A young heron joins the resident ducks in the water under the viaduct at Sea Mills, where the walk starts.
4. Footpath waymarker
The Sea Mills to Shirehampton walk is part of the longer Severn Way Bristol Link along the river.