A wonderful afternoon at Clevedon

Yesterday was such a beautiful sunny day (today it is raining again, though we are all eagerly waiting for the promised heatwave later this week!) so we decided that an excursion to the seaside was in order and Clevedon was the suggestion.

I had never been to this coastal town before, though I knew that John Betjeman had described the pier as “the most beautiful in England” so I was keen to discover it for myself – and I wasn’t disappointed.  It is quite an old-fashioned kind of place with rows of Victorian villas lining the hill above the town, whilst lower down are clusters of pastel-coloured Regency houses from earlier in the 19th century.  But Clevedon’s real glory is its shoreline, and it was the perfect day for a walk along the coastal path….

Daisy was keen and eager to explore, so after stopping briefly to take this photo we set off along the path….

Unlike the coastguards’ lookouts you see along the Devon coast, this was built as a simple viewpoint so visitors could enjoy looking out across the Bristol channel and inland across the town.  In the distance is the pier…

Which really is as pretty as John Betjeman claimed.  So many piers are supported by a chunky ironwork lattice, but this seemed almost to float over the water with its uncluttered spans and delicate-seeming arches…..

Well-behaved dogs on leads are allowed, so we decided to take Miss Daisy for a walk right to the very end – and she did make us laugh!

I think I may have mentioned before that she doesn’t really see very well, and on the way out she was so excited to reach the end she didn’t notice that there were gaps between the planks.  But on the return journey she noticed!! And started doing such a funny walk, crossing her paws on each step while her nose sank lower and lower to make sure that those pesky gaps weren’t going to open up beneath her!  She can be so silly!!

My final picture is of the beach and the bathing or paddling pool, originally built in 1880….

I would have loved to walk along the concrete path as the people above are doing, but no dogs were allowed. This is probably just as well as  I don’t think we would’ve been able to stop Miss Daisy from jumping in – but I’m not at all sure how we would have got her out again!!

If you’d like to find out more about Clevedon Pier then it has its own website here with lots more information.  And if you’re in the area, then I totally recommend a visit, we will most certainly be returning before too long!