How old is avon gorge

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The span of Brunel's bridge is over feet, longer than any existing when it was designed, and the height above water about feet. The technical challenges of this engineering project were immense, and Brunel dealt with them with his usual thoroughness and ingenuity. The foundation stone was laid in but by when the money ran out only the piers had been built. The bridge eventually opened in but visitors to the site had been coming long before to see the unique flora and fauna of the area.

Today the Avon Gorge is recognised as a Site Of Special Scientific Interest because of the amazing geology and wildlife that thrives here. Take a look at the cliff-face as it plunges down to the Portway beneath and the River Avon winding its way to the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth. The sides are covered in grassland and craggy rock ledges supporting some of the UK's rarest plants - some unique to the gorge.

The gorge has its own microclimate that has helped seeds grow here that would not normally be expected this far north. The south-facing sides receive a lot of sunlight and shelter; the limestone is also well-drained. Winds can be funnelled through the gorge those from a southerly direction are often warm and dry making an almost "Mediterranean" feel But when the wind blows northerly off the Bristol Channel it can be wet, grey and quite a forbidding location.

Updrafts formed during bright sunshine provide ideal soaring conditions for birds of prey hovering in search of their next meal. Rare plants It is likely seeds were brought in after the last Ice Age and deposited in the gorge. Because the soil was so thin trees didn't grow very well in the gorge and smaller plants survived. Growing in the gorge are 24 nationally rare and scarce plants including two trees - the Bristol and Wilmotts's whitebeams that are unique to the gorge.

The final theory is that the limestone we can see, and other rocks in the area, were originally covered by a layer of younger rock across which the youthful River Avon flowed, following its present route.

Over time this younger rock was worn away through a process called erosion, revealing the older limestone and other rocks beneath. Instead it was forced to flow across the limestone and sliced down through it to create the gorge. Perhaps, a bit like when you cut through a loaf of bread and force your way through the crust at the bottom!

Giants, lakes and loaves of bread — the answer may never be completely water tight. Devon and Warwickshire have their own Avons and Hampshire has two! So why so many? In actual fact, this means they are all tautologies — they use the same word twice. Your browser is out of date, and unsupported by this website. Please upgrade to the latest version to use this website. There have been many theories why the gorge cuts through here. The River Avon winding its way below us may hold some of the clues but is it a simple story, or one of scientific contention and legend?

Walk metres or so up Clifton Down from the B