High summer at Ashton Court

We've found that as long as we pick our time, we can find relative solitude at Ashton Court, despite the pressure on open urban spaces as a result of the pandemic. So we've been going up there every couple of months or so this year, and now it's high summer's turn to take centre stage. 

The oak that's always first to greet us

yellow rattle

View over central Bristol, including the Wills Memorial building, Cabot Tower and St Mary Redcliffe

View over south Bristol with Kelston Roundhill on the horizon

View across to Dundry

Path to Summerhouse Plantation

Green where there were bluebells last time we were here

The Fattest Oak in ceremonial solstice robes

Fox or badger sett

I wish I could read bark. This is in sycamore. 

Nature watching with Cwtch the collie

Going home

Last week Facebook drew to my attention to the fact that it was a year since I'd wandered around the heart of Bristol, and I realised that I'd never been away from it for that long before. And as I'm attached to the place, I had to do something about it, and that meant getting up at dawn to go down  for a wander before it was too busy, as much for the puppy's sake as that of our social distancing. 

It was still quite dark when we arrived at Mud Dock, but it brightened as we headed down along Princes Wharf and Wapping Wharf to the Great Britain, although there was a stiff breeze, which made for interesting skies and achy faces. 

The same breeze brought in storm clouds, and although it was only a short stroll, the sky quickly became a lot more dramatic. 

Looking across to Cabot Tower ... 

`    

... and back to Cliftonwood

Cabot Tower, the Planetarium, Bristol Cathedral, the Wills Memorial Building, more of the Cathedral, the lead works chimney

Don't make me go in that puddle! 

A brisk stop-off at Sea Walls  - no ice cream van! - and it was time to go home. All very familiar, but given that we can't go anywhere new right now, enough to tide us over. 

 

Trooping up Troopers Hill

The tail end of Storm Gareth was still marching about, but we are nothing if not intrepid, me, Ted and the lad, so we set off for The Dark Side (of Bristol).

We were heading for a place we'd never visited, namely Troopers Hill, which looms high over the River Avon in the east of the city. 

It's now a nature reserve, but in the past it's been mined and quarried, and housed a copper smelting works.

From the top of the hill there are extensive views over the centre and south of the city ...

... although the wild weather wasn't conducive to seeing them. 

This is looking south-west, over St Annes in the immediate foreground, and (eventually) Dundry.

This is looking west towards the centre of the city. You can see the course of the River Avon by the shape of the tree-covered hill. Right in the centre is a misty spire belonging to St Mary Redcliffe. (You'll have to take my word for it.)

Looking east along the Avon valley

Since it was so bitter on top of the hill, and raining too, we decided to wander down through the workings, where it might be a little more sheltered.

Troopers Hill has had a number of names over the years. It was known as Harris Hill, Ghosthills and Trubody's Hill on 17th century maps.

'Ghosthills' is believed possibly to have been a local pronunciation for Gorsehills. Likewise,  Troopers Hill could be a corruption of Trubody's Hill ... 

... or a folk memory of its alleged role during the Civil Wars, when the Parliamentary Army, under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, camped there prior to the siege of Bristol in 1645. (It's less than a three mile ride from Wickham Court.)

The hill's pennant sandstone was quarried and used to build many local buildings; also, less predictably, St Peter's Church in Stow Bardolph, Norfolk.

It was also mined for fire clay and coal, being home to at least six mines out of the 400+ that formed the Kingswood coal field.

There was also a lot of industry down by the Avon (in the centre of this photo) at Crews Hole. 

In the 18th century copper was brought in from Devon and Cornwall and smelted with zinc ore from the Mendips to make brass. Many of the brass products were exported to Africa to be bartered for slaves as part of the 'triangular trade' in which Bristol played such a pivotal role. 

I'm glad the hill is a nature reserve now. It's good to see scrub, including gorse, growing in what is an inner city area. And to know that rare mining bees are continuing the tradition of digging into this hill. 

We were enjoying exploring, although we did decide that that the path down to Crews Hole was altogether too muddy and slithery for me to risk going down with my track record.


I haven't found out what this stone - a marker? - is for yet.

We intend to come back again for a more extensive exploration when the weather is more clement.

Making America Gert Lush Again

We were in town a bit early so we started our protest in the Shakespeare on (Sweet) Prince Street. 

Always good to have Will on your side from the off.

He is featured on our placard after all. 

Rachael Clyne, me, Liz Brownlee and the Northerner

Here's some of the others we saw before and during our march through the centre of town and Broadmead. 

 Off with his head!

Oopsie, Neptune's lost his placard. 

(It read DUMP TRUMP - but not in MY ocean!)

Ooh look, there's poet Tim Burroughs ...

... and Rachael being staunch.

As we headed down St Augustine's Parade, a young bloke shouted 'Why are you protesting HIM? He's American, this is England. It's nothing to do with us!' 

'Why are you wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt?' someone shouted back. 'He was Argentinian!'

'He was an Argentinian doctor!' added the Northerner. 'He fought in the Cuban Revolution! He died for people's rights in Bolivia! He was an Internationalist!!'

Poor lad looked flummoxed. 'He wasn't ... er ... this is England ... ?' 

And up went the cry AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA!

St John on theWall

More Tim 

And here's our lovely poet, Pat Simmons, taking time out from celebrating her birthday ...

... and isn't that the back of poet Annie McGann?

At Bristol Bridge

Of course, after a bit of concentrated demonstrationing, you deserve pizza and a nice view of the Floating Harbour.  

So we indulged. 

Well done, Bristol.