Heritage Days Out

Palmerston Fort

This marvellous fort, on the very tip of the Brean Down peninsula, is so good that it was used more than once! It began as a Victorian fort and was re-armed again during WW2. It was also used  as a testing site for rockets and weapons including the bouncing bomb. There’s still plenty to see there today, however you do need to conquer 200 steep steps and a walk to get to it.

Birnbeck Pier

The now dis-used Birnbeck Pier used to be a playground for Welsh miners who arrived by the boatload on paddle steamers from Cardiff. In its heyday it pulled in 750,000 visitors a year enjoying attractions such as a Theatre of Wonders, mechanical models, a shooting gallery and later on a ‘flying machine’. The pier became so successful that during the early 1900s, a tram  linked the pier with the railway station.But trouble wasn’t far away and with the increased popularity of the Grand Pier, Birnbeck Island’s decline began. The government took it over during the war for weapons testing and re-named it HMS Birnbeck. It was later returned to its owners but it was dogged with bad luck with events such as a fire contributing  to its decline.

Weston Museum and Clara’s Cottage

Back in the day you could have bought Clara’s Cottage, which now annexes Weston Museum, for just £280. However to save money in its construction it was built with fewer bricks which meant the interior walls were weaker and consequently one of the walls collapsed in World War Two when a bomb fell on Orchard Street. The house, named after its owner  is just a part of Weston’s intriguing museum where as well as seeing exhibits of the town’s history from Prehistoric times you can play on some original arcade games from the pier as well as try on some vintage clothing and a swimming hat like the one worn by the town’s four-time gold-medal winning Olympian Paulo Radmilovic.

Tyntesfield House

The imposing Tyntesfield House and its 540 acres of parkland, woodland and formal gardens is a stunning sight and even more so when you consider that it was funded by bird poo! The Gibbs family, who owned it, made their fortune importing seabird droppings from South America, which the Victorians used as fertiliser. Today the elegant house, chapel and gardens are run by the National Trust and are open throughout the year.

Shipwreck at Berrow

At low tide, the remains of the SS Nornen shipwreck stick out of the sand at Berrow, near Burnham-On-Sea. The Norwegian vessel got into difficulty during the gales of 1897 which brought high seas and driving snow. The ship’s ten-man crew and their dog were rescued by the Burnham lifeboat but the boat could not be salvaged. Today, when the tide goes out the shipwreck, just north of St Mary's Parish Church, Berrow, is still visible.

Burnham Lighthouse

This ‘lighthouse on stilts’ is one of Somerset’s most iconic and unusual landmarks.  Known as the ‘Burnham-on-Sea Lower Light’, it stands 36 feet high on nine wooden piers and looks like a Punch and Judy stand. It was built in conjunction with the construction of the High Lighthouse.

Flat Holm Island

Flat Holm island is assured of its place in history because the world's first radio transmission across water was made from there by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897. He erected a transmitting mast on the island and a receiving mast at Lavernock Point in Wales. His first trials failed, but on May 13th the mast was raised higher and the signals were received. As well as owning that piece of history, Flat Holm became an isolation hospital to protect the mainland from a cholera epidemic in 1883 and was the base for more than 350 soldiers in World War Two.

St Nicholas Church, Uphill

The 11^th century church is one of North Somerset’s most ancient churches but it has been without a roof since the 1860s. It sits on top of cliffs which used to be dotted with  caves and it commands one of the best views for miles around. The church served the old medieval port of Uphill but has now been replaced by the new St Nicholas Church, although it is still used for the occasional service.

Old Town Quarry, Weston-super-Mare

The Old Town Quarry in South Road which once provided the stone for the town’s Victorian homes, is now an artists’ community and also a nature reserve.

Worlebury Hill Fort

The Iron Age hill fort on top of Weston Woods sits in a commanding position on a limestone hill to the north of Weston-super-Mare.  Several footpaths lead up to the ruins of the settlement which is thought to have been created some 700 years before the Romans arrived in Britain.

Clevedon Pier

Clevedon Pier is the UK’s only Grade 1 listed pier and a real magnet for photographers. The pier was partially constructed from railway lines left over from the construction of  Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway. Brunel, himself was so taken with Clevedon that he made it his home for a while.