Great West Way® Travel Magazine | Issue 01

Pictured left-right: The beautiful Wells Cathedral; Uffington White Horse; Bath’s Kennet &
Avon Canal; Bradford on Avon’s ancient bridge still with two of its original 13th century arches
December 8th, 1864, the bridge spans the spectacular Avon
Gorge linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in the North
of Somerset.
Built to a design by William Henry Barlow and John
Hawkshaw, (based on an earlier design by Isambard
Kingdom Brunel) it’s a Grade I listed building and forms
part of the B3129 road (just make sure you have a £1 coin
ready for the toll).
Enjoy the spectacular views as you cross, then carry on
along the B3129 and B3128 towards Clevedon where you
might want to enjoy the delights of the only Grade I listed
pier in the country. Described as “the most beautiful pier
in England” by poet Sir John Betjeman, it’s celebrating its
150th anniversary in 2019.
Next, stop off at the National Trust’s Tyntesfield - a
gothic Victorian time capsule. From Clevedon take the
B3133 towards Yatton, Congresbury and Cheddar Gorge.
From its stunning cliffs to its remarkable subterranean
stalactite show caves, the gorge was forged some 1.2
million years ago and ‘Cheddar Man’ - Britain’s oldest
complete human skeleton - was found in the caves in
1903. If you park up, take the 274-step walk to the Lookout
Tower or enjoy the three-mile Clifftop Gorge Walk for
awe-inspiring views. The first section of road as you leave
Cheddar is the most dramatic, offering incredible views of
England’s deepest gorge.
The B3135 snakes through rocky outcrops as it climbs
away into the Mendips. After a series of tight bends, the
road opens so that you can savour the countryside. You’re
now in the heart of the Mendips, but don’t miss the Wells
Road turning, followed by the Old Bristol Road which will
take you into Wells - arguably England’s smallest city.
Built between 1175 and 1490, Wells Cathedral has been
described as “the most poetic of the English Cathedrals”
and it’s the earliest English cathedral to be built in the
Gothic style.
Head to Wells on a Wednesday and Saturday if you want
to catch a traditional market. The town is also popular with
TV and movie makers - think Wolf Hall and Hot Fuzz.
2NEWBURY TO CASTLE COMBE
îA gallop past two chalk White Horses and on to a
couple of automotive treats…
We begin our second route in the Berkshire town of
Newbury (turn off Junction 13 of the M4 and head south
on the A34, then A329). It’s the perfect base for exploring
numerous walking and cycling trails, visiting Highclere
Castle, home of TV’s Downton Abbey, or simply spending a
day at the races.
Head north-west from Newbury, picking up the
Lambourn Road at Speen. It slices through the countryside,
much of it alongside the River Lambourn, before dipping
under the M4 just past Easton.
Keep going until you get to Great Shefford, making sure
you head east to Lambourn – the heart of the area known
as the Valley of the Racehorse, so called because it’s one of
the UK’s major racehorse training centres.
Watch out for racehorse crossings as you motor towards
Ashbury on the B4057, followed by Uffington where you’ll
see a 110-metre prehistoric chalk white horse carved into
the hillside.
Now go north through Hinton Parva, over the M4
and onto the A346 which sweeps towards the village of
Wroughton, west of Swindon. From here, go south and
onto the A4 westwards, looking out for a sign to our
second white horse of the day, at Cherhill - 3.5 miles east
of the town of Calne in Wiltshire.
Calne is also the home of the small, friendly
Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum, exhibiting cars and
interesting motoring memorabilia from the 1920’s onwards.
The final section of our journey takes us to the historic
Castle Combe circuit. Just follow the A4 west. You can also
stop off at the picture postcard village of Castle Combe,
a favourite TV and film location for productions such as
Stardust, War Horse and the original Doctor Dolittle with
Rex Harrison in 1966.
Castle Combe Circuit was opened just 18 months after
Silverstone in the summer of 1950, making it one of the
longest established (and fastest) tracks in the UK. Still an
active circuit, it’s even possible to test your own car to the
limit during special ‘track days’ staged several times a year.
52 GreatWestWay.co.uk