Phil Chamberlain

Published by Venue magazine

Each week 250,000 people visit The Mall at Cribbs Causeway for most the aim is to shop and drive away again with as little fuss as possible.

But it is possible to get something different from your trip.
Take a gently sloping path opposite the main entrance, under the road and you come out by Burger King. On the other side of the slip road there is a large wooden sunflower. It’s the start of the Charlton walk.

This skirts the Filton runway. You quickly come across the remains of a road, some building rubble and clumps of herbs from kitchen gardens. This is all that is left of Charlton village.

Charlton had the misfortune to be at the end of the runway. When the huge Brabazon plane was being developed there it was feared that the runway would not be able to accommodate it. So, in 1946, the village was flattened. The Brabazon was eventually scrapped.

The walk goes past a giant earth sculpture, a huge bank shaped like the fins of a jet engine. The white noise from M5 follows you everywhere.

According to the picture in my walking guide, with the sculpture behind me, I should be looking down on Catbrain Reservoir. Instead I’m looking down on big green bowl with the Henbury Trym river cutting a shallow furrow through it.

Gerry lives nearby and regularly walks his dog here.

"The reservoir does fill up some times," he said. "It’s supposed to collect the excess rainwater from Cribbs Causeway.

"There is lots of history here. Keep going and you’ll end up at the Roman remains at Sea Mills. But a lot of things are hidden because the weeds and the plants aren’t cut."

Legend has it that the area was named after the bare-knuckle boxer called Tom Cribb who lived in Henbury. He did exist but the name actually it comes from a Roman road which crossed the region.

You can follow the footpath further round the airfield and then across the gold course – a favourite spot for plane spotters.

I turned away and took a connecting footpath to the Cribbs Causeway dual carriageway. I then walked beyond the Harry Ramsden’s roundabout and left down Hollywood Lane that passes under the M5.

Almost immediately on the right is the gated entrance to the Cribbs Business Centre. You have to follow a drive lined by wild garlic to get to the centre. This is housed in a Hollywood mansion dating from the early 19^th century. In the grounds is a large tower with an observation platform built in the 1850s.

The home was owned by John Davies who made his money and reputation in the Far East. It’s now owned by Bristol Zoo (see panel).

The housekeeper says: "I started here in October. From the top of the house you could see cages where the zoo kept some of their animals, like lions. There are just birds now.

"It can be very spooky at night. The people on the second floor talk about a ‘presence’ and it gives you the shivers."

It is very noticeable that, for the first time in my walk, with the house doors closed the hum of the M5 has been shut away.

If all goes to plan then Hollywood will be the centre for a new wildlife park from Bristol Zoo. By 2010 up to 60,000 people a year could be visiting the 55 acre site. Coming out of Hollywood I take a footpath opposite and about 100 yards up the road. You pass through an ugly metal gate with fly-tipped rubbish on either side. The path runs parallel to and only a few dozen yards from the M5. I’m aiming to find another example of the area’s military connection.

Buried in around Haw Wood and Berwick Wood are three huge fuel depots. After a few hundred yards the footpath peters out at an abandoned fuel dump. Buzzards soar overhead and the Seven crossing shimmers in the distance. A little further on and CCTV cameras, a fence and ventilation shafts signal that I have found one of the modern depots. I eventually I crawl through a hole in a fence and pick up the footpath again. It takes me to a small road which crosses the M5.

At this point, just south of Berwick Lodge, you can head off to find a little piece of Bristol’s atomic history. At grid reference ST55208004 (OS Explorer Map 155) is the site of a small observation bunker. Around 1,500 of these are dotted around the country. The idea was that if a nuclear attack was imminent a couple of spotters would take up residence. If Bristol disappeared in a mushroom cloud they would be able to record the necessary technical details and relay it to anyone left who cared to do something about it.

The Hallen post was opened in 1960 and shut in September 1991. It remains locked with just some unobtrusive pipes and manhole covers to pinpoint it.

My route takes me back over the M5, down a wooded lane teeming with rabbits and within 20 minutes I’m back at the Harry Ramsden roundabout.

This is the first time I have actually walked through the shopping complex and in the 15 minutes it takes me I pass no-one else on foot.
I have visited Cribbs Causeway dozens of times but it is only on this walk that I notice the hedges and borders between shops and car parks are not uniform. There are breaks and paths worn out.

James Hickling is part of the seven-strong team of landscape gardeners employed by The Mall to look after 180 acres.

"I know it seems surprising but there is quite a lot of foot traffic," he said. "You get what we call desire lines. These are short cuts people take through hedges and across grass verges. Sometimes they’ll only save themselves a few metres."

Most of the lines I see carved out are so staff can nip round the back of their workplace because they desire a cigarette or something else.

I also notice for the first time that the Henbury Trym crosses the site. At Morrison’s it spreads out into a pleasant curving waterway with Chinese-style lily pads and gentle ramps.At the wooden bridge which crosses this stream is large sign to remind you that this is nature to be viewed by invitation only.

"This footpath is not a public footpath and there is no intention to dedicate it as such," it declares.

The Mall has its own biodiversity programme to try and bring some greenery to the area and limit its environmental footprint. That includes putting up nest boxes made by local school children and supporting neighbouring nature reserves (see panel).
The landscape gardeners plant around 3,000 plants and trees every year. Despite the thousands of exhaust pipes, the plants generally flourish, except when it comes to winter. Then the salt and chemicals from the gritters take a heavy toll. Staff are still trying to work out which species can survive this blizzard.

James said: "We do get people coming up to the information desk asking about particular plants they have seen outside and wanting more information."
People have even been known to rip up some of the plants to take them home. At this temple of mammon perhaps it is understandable that everything is seen as for consumption.

ENDS

PANEL

Other areas to see:

Walking a short distance up Hollywood Lane you can pick up the Community Forest Path. This 45 mile route circles Bristol. The section near Cribbs Causeway takes in Blaise Castle, Henbury Churchyard, where the grave of the African slave Scipio Africanus can be found, and ancient Spanorium Hill, which has fine views over the Severn Estuary.

About 20 minutes walk behind Cribbs Causeway, off Coniston Road in Patchway, is Gorse Covert, the area’s newest local nature reserve.

It was set up partly thanks to funding from Prudential, owners of The Mall. On 22 July a fun day takes place here for adults and children to learn a bit more about the site.

PANEL:

Resources

For more about Patchway, including the active conservation group, see:

http://www.patchway-town.co.uk/

For more in Filton airfield see

http://www.filton.flyer.co.uk/

See also http://www.aviationarchive.org.uk/ for aviation history in the areas including an excellent series of maps.

For more about the work of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers in South Gloucestershire contact:

Paul Humphreys on 0117 960 5447 or email South-Glos@btcv.org.uk

Among the leaflets about walking in area the following are available either from South Gloucestershire Council or Patchway Town Council:

Patchway Greenway

The Community Forest Path

Charlton Walk

ENDS

All articles on this website are copyright Phil Chamberlain and may not be reproduced without permission of the author.