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A walk from Blaise Castle to Kings Weston – in Bristol

The Blaise Castle walk to Kings Weston in Bristol offers an all round experience of fresh air and exercise with a healthy dose of history, poetry and sculpture thrown in. You might even get a nice cup of tea and cake as your reward at the end! I’ll share the highlights with you, just in case you’d like to take a walk too.

Blaise House near Bristol
Blaise House near Bristol

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The Blaise Castle walk

We started at the car park of Blaise castle estate, which was teeming with Bristolians out for their afternoon of family fun. When my children were tiny the café was a small hatch and a few tired swings and slides passed for a playground.

Cafe in Blaise park near Bristol
Cafe in Blaise park near Bristol

…and years afterwards you’ll remember that kiss on the bridge where nailheads guttered like stars under your feet

Playground in Blaise park near Bristol
Playground in Blaise park near Bristol

Now, thanks to lottery funding, the Blaise Castle park has been revamped with a shiny new steel cafe with a waterfall running down one side, poetry etched in the glass windows and a quirky scrap metal dog, keeping guard over it all.

Cafe in Blaise park near Bristol
Cafe in Blaise park near Bristol

Blaise Hamlet

Before we started our walk in earnest, we backtracked down the road to search out a hamlet of picturesque thatched cottages with names like Oak and Sweet Briar Cottage. Built in 1811 for retired workers from the Blaise estate, Blaise Hamlet is now owned by the National Trust, although the cottages are still occupied.

Blaise Hamlet in Bristol
Blaise Hamlet in Bristol

As you push open the wrought iron you enter the chocolate box world Ye Olde England and imagine you are living the rural idyll.

Blaise Hamlet in Bristol
Blaise Hamlet in Bristol

It would be easy to spend a whole sunny afternoon here in Blaise without bothering with the walk. There’s plenty to see, with the two children’s playgrounds, the free Blaise Castle house museum and a wander round the old churchyard, where the famous black slave, Scipio Africanus is buried.

Blaise Hamlet in Bristol
Blaise Hamlet in Bristol

Blaise Castle folly

But back to the car-park we turned and pressed on past the children playing, towards Blaise Castle house museum. Turning right we climbed the wooded mound in front of us, to take a look at the ‘castle’ at the top.

This folly was built in the 1790’s when the whole estate was re-landscaped by Humphry Repton, and in days gone by was used as a summer house.

The folly at Blaise castle park
The folly at Blaise castle park

It’s closed up now, although the Friends of Blaise sometimes have open days. Opposite Blaise castle is a viewpoint overlooking the limestone gorge and the suburbs of Bristol beyond. If you scramble down from here you can follow another wooded path beside the stream at the bottom of the gorge – but that’s a walk for another day.

Overlooking the coombe dingle gorge in Blaize castle park
Overlooking the Coombe Dingle Gorge in Blaise castle park

Walking to Kings Weston

We climbed down the end of the mound, heading south-west, then almost immediately climbed up again onto the ridge that takes you towards Kings Weston, our goal for tea that afternoon.

Kings Weston ride at Blaise castle park
Kings Weston ride at Blaise castle park

The landscape at the top broadens out into a ‘ride’, used in the days when a gallop in the countryside was considered the best exercise for a well-bred young lady or gentleman. There’s a stable nearby where I used to bring my children when they were little and we would come up onto this ride for a gentle trot.

Kings Weston ride at Blaise castle park
Kings Weston ride at Blaise castle park

We strolled along the open ride, passing joggers listening to music, hiking groups armed with walking poles and families with all-terrain buggies. On our left we could glimpse the heart of Bristol through the trees, on our right the Severn Bridge, bearing traffic over the Bristol estuary and into Wales.

Kings Weston ride at Blaise castle park
Kings Weston ride at Blaise castle park

After half an hour, just beyond a radio mast, the path narrowed and we came to a green painted bridge over the main road below.

Update March 2024: The green bridge has been taken down for repairs so you’ll have to walk down to the road to access Kings Weston house by crossing the road.

Bridge over the road near Kings Weston House
Bridge over the road near Kings Weston House
Kings Weston House
Kings Weston House

Kings Weston House

Immediately across the bridge we turned right and passed an arched folly, before strolling down the wooded avenue to glimpse Kings Weston House. Designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1710, the house has had mixed fortunes in recent years, as a military base, school, college and offices for the Avon and Somerset police.

The folly at Kings Weston House
The folly at Kings Weston House

It’s now run by a private company and used for weddings, conferences and Sunday lunches – our friends got married there. Depending on what’s going on, you may be able to wander into their elegant hall and admire the family portraits.

Kings Weston House
Kings Weston House
The hall at Kings Weston house
The hall at Kings Weston house

Kings Weston House cafe

We settled into the Kings Weston House cafe, decorated with brightly painted tiles and photos of the house throughout the seasons. An open fire crackled in the stone fireplace as we deliberated between a traditional Victoria sponge and a lemon drizzle cake with our tea.

The cafe at Kings Weston House
The cafe at Kings Weston House
The cafe at Kings Weston House
The cafe at Kings Weston House

You can have lunch too and sit on the terrace outside, although the view which would once have been of rolling countryside towards the Severn estuary, is now the industrial landscape of Avonmouth.

The cafe at Kings Weston House
The cafe at Kings Weston House

The walk from Blaise castle to Kings Weston House took us over an hour, allowing for taking photos, admiring the view and basking on a sunny bench or two. But on the way back we set a brisker pace and made it back in only 30 minutes.

There was just time to admire a little more poetry before we headed for home.

Cafe in Blaise park near Bristol
..light on leaves, a bird’s dark wing, what you see depends on the glass you look through

If you’d like to try out this walk click on the map image below to locate the places I’ve mentioned in the article. To get directions, use your favourite route finder website and type in the postcode BS10 7QS. You can see all the photos again on my Flickr site here.

Happy wandering!

Map of walk from Blaise Castle to Kings Weston Bristol Photo Heatheronhertravels.com

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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Jo

Thursday 7th of March 2024

FYI

The green bridge has been taken down for repairs so one has to walk down to the road to access Kings Weston house by crossing the road (March 2024)

Heather Cowper

Thursday 7th of March 2024

@Jo Thanks for the update

Free things to do in Bristol | Heather on her travels

Saturday 3rd of March 2012

[...] One of my favourite Bristol walks for a Sunday afternoon is from Blaise Castle to Kingsweston House. Leave your car in the car park of Blaise Castle estate and first walk back to look around the green with charming thatched cottages of Blaise Hamlet, owned by the National Trust that were designed as housing for the pensioners of the Blaise Castle Estate. Back in the Blaise Castle park and you could easily spend an hour or two, what with the childrens’ playgrounds for different ages, the Blaise Castle House Museum and the folly at the top of the hill. However, I like to walk to the top of the high ground and along the ride towards Kings Weston House, with views towards the Severn Bridge. Within the hour you should arrive at the house, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1710 which is now often rented out for weddings and other functions, but around the side there’s a small tea shop with a terrace for sunny days. Read my article about the Walk to Kingsweston [...]

A Bluebell wood at Abbots Leigh in Bristol | Heather on her travels

Tuesday 21st of February 2012

[...] Related Posts Garden Open day at Emmaus House in Bristol A Rainbow of spring flowers in Bristol A walk to Kings Weston in Bristol [...]

A Garden open day at Emmaus House in Bristol | Heather on her travels

Sunday 1st of May 2011

[...] posts  A rainbow of spring flowers in Bristol The Bluebell wood at Abbots Leigh in Bristol A Walk to Kings Weston in Bristol #flickr_badge_source_txt {padding:0; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif; color:#666666;} [...]

Heather Cowper

Thursday 11th of November 2010

@ Michael light on leaves, a bird’s dark wing, what you see depends on the glass you look through - Yes I love that too but I couldn't find out where it came from.