Eastwood and Battery Point Local Nature Reserve, Portishead

This 8 hectare site, owned by North Somerset Council, is located to the north of Portishead, adjacent to the Severn Estuary with fine views across the Bristol Channel.

This site is steeped in history and wildlife. A battery of guns once stood at Battery Point and in the Second World War guns were mounted on aprons which still exist today. A beacon was built between the wars by Avonmouth Docks to beacon the adjacent deep water shipping channel.

Eastwood became woodland after the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. This is a fine woodland where you can still see signs of managment by coppicing carried out in centuries gone by and native woodland flowers put on a colourful display in the spring.

A Victorian broadwalk runs along the ridge of the wood. During the nineteenth century boat-parties from the Bristol Hotwells disembarked at Portishead and enjoyed picnics here and the site was later developed as an exclusive pleasure ground with carriage drives and paths. The walkway is lined by trees most of which have survived from Victorian times and may have been planted. An Iron Age hillfort remains as a raised area just off the broadwalk.

A circular self-guided trail of about one mile in distance, is available from the North Somerset Ranger Service, please telephone 01934 621 802 to obtain a leaflet.

Access: Eastwood and Battery Point is located to the north of Portishead, close to the sea-front area and the open-air pool. There is parking close to the woodland along Pier Road, Woodlands Road and Esplanade Road. There is also ample parking on the seafront.
Walk up the steps past the swimming pool to the start of the self-guiding trail.

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