When I saw it, I just couldn’t resist buying it. There, on eBay, was a small hand-sized book called ‘Walking around Bristol’ by Helena Eason, printed in 1979 - and I could buy it for under £10!
Please forgive me for my love of walks and nostalgia, as previously seen here, but I thought it’d be of interest to read how an area of Bristol looked like through the eyes of someone nearly half a century ago, compared to now.
Back in 1979, of course, there were fewer cars, and more buses. Bristol was smaller in terms of housing. And there were many more pubs open.
But, as I found out, many places, as well as attitudes, haven’t changed. In her introduction, Ms Eason says ‘it is a sad fact that Government economies and local vandalism’ sometimes lead to buildings becoming damaged or/and derelict.
The walk I chose was Walk 4, from Lawrence Weston to Kings Weston to Shirehampton, and I completed it with my family on a beautiful, warm day last week. It took me from Lawrence Weston, past the Giant Goram pub and up to Kings Weston House. Then we walked down into Shirehampton before finishing at The Lamplighters pub.
We managed to get a bus back from Shirehampton to Lawrence Weston to also take us back to our car. Here’s a collection of photographs showing the way we took with comments from the 1979 walking guide book:
1.
Here’s me holding the Walking around Bristol book with Kings Weston House in the background. Follow the walk with the pictures below:
2. Long Cross, Lawrence Weston
The guide book says Lawrence Weston housing estate was built in 1949 and in 1979 covered forestland which once extended from Kingsweston heights to the coasts. ‘It is always sad when housing, however much it is needed, replaces the open countryside’, the author says.
3. Roman villa
One ‘unsuspected bonus’ of the housing estate was the uncovering of the remains of this Roman villa, the author writes. It’s still there today and can be seen from Long Cross. The villa has evidence of luxury with heated rooms, bath suite and mosaic floors. It was abandoned around 367AD when Irish pirates raided the coasts of Britain, destroying settlements in the region.
4. Ah, locked gates
One problem is that you can’t actually get close and inspect the remains because, like when the guide book was written, it is fenced off with a padlock and chain. Back in 1979, the local newsagents (now a house) in Barrowmead Drive was the place to get the key for 30p deposit. Today, you need to contact Bristol Museum, and the deposit is now £10!