Clevedon, England

Welcome to Clevedon, a charming seaside town located in North Somerset, England. With a population of over 21,000, Clevedon is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. The town is situated along the Severn Estuary and is surrounded by small hills, including Church Hill, Wains Hill, Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone Hill, and Court Hill, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Clevedon has a rich history, dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086, and has grown from a farming village into a popular seaside resort in the Victorian era and a dormitory town for Bristol in the 20th century. Today, Clevedon offers a variety of attractions, including ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand, a light railway, and the Clevedon Pier, one of the earliest surviving examples of a Victorian pier. Other landmarks include Walton Castle, Clevedon Court, the Clock Tower, and the Curzon Cinema. Clevedon also has a thriving light industry, mainly located in industrial estates such as Hither Green Trading Estate near the M5 motorway junction. The town is home to educational, religious, and cultural buildings and sports clubs. Clevedon’s shore consists of pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with an old harbour at the western edge of the town, at the mouth of the Land Yeo. The rocky beach has been designated as the Clevedon Shore Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Clevedon is also home to Poets Walk, a footpath round Wains Hill and Church Hill to the south-west of the seafront, and Marine Lake, once a Victorian swimming pool, which is used for boating and for a small festival once a year where people can try out new sports. Clevedon has a temperate climate, generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country, with seasonal temperature variation less extreme than in most of the United Kingdom due to the adjacent sea temperatures. The town had a population of 21,957 according to the United Kingdom Census 2001, with almost 20% over the age of 65 years and 98.8% white. Clevedon has light industry, mainly on industrial estates such as Hither Green, near the M5 motorway junction, and is also a dormitory town for Bristol. Clevedon Court is one of the few remaining 14th-century manorial halls in England, built by Sir John de Clevedon in about 1320, and is now owned by the National Trust. Walton Castle is a 17th-century fort located on Castle Hill that overlooks the Walton St Mary area at the northern end of Clevedon, built some time between 1615 and 1620. The Royal Pier Hotel is a Grade II listed building next to the pier, built in 1823 by Thomas Hollyman, and originally called The Rock House. Clevedon Pier opened on Easter Monday 1869 and is now one of the earliest UK examples of a Victorian pier still in existence. Clevedon is a wonderful destination for those seeking a relaxing seaside getaway with plenty of history and charm.