Severn EstuaryThe Severn Estuary (Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very high tidal range, approximately , creates valuable intertidal habitats and has led to the area being at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable tidal energy. Definitions of the limits of the Severn Estuary vary.
Bristol ChannelThe Bristol Channel (Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon, Somerset to North Somerset). It extends from the smaller Severn Estuary of the River Severn (Afon Hafren) to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city and port of Bristol Long stretches of both sides of the coastline are designated as Heritage Coast.
PenarthPenarth (pəˈnɑrθ, pɛnˈarθ) is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a seaside resort in the Cardiff Urban Area, and the second largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan, next only to the administrative centre of Barry. During the Victorian era Penarth was a highly popular holiday destination, promoted nationally as "The Garden by the Sea" and was packed by visitors from the Midlands and the West Country as well as day trippers from the South Wales valleys, mostly arriving by train.
Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare (...ˈmɛər ), also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in the North Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population at the 2021 census was 82,418. The area around the town has been occupied since the Iron Age. It was still a small village until the 19th century when it developed as a seaside resort. A railway station and two piers were built.
ClevedonClevedon (ˈkliːvdən, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies along the Severn Estuary, among small hills that include Church Hill, Wain's Hill (topped by the remains of an Iron Age hill fort), Dial Hill, Strawberry Hill, Castle Hill, Hangstone Hill and Court Hill, a Site of Special Scientific Interest with overlaid Pleistocene deposits.
LavernockLavernock (Larnog) is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, lying on the coast south of Cardiff between Penarth and Sully, and overlooking the Bristol Channel. Following overland tests at Salisbury Plain during March 1897, on 13 May 1897, the Italian born and recently British based inventor, best known for his development of a radiotelegraph system, Guglielmo Marconi, assisted by George Kemp (who was a Cardiff based Post Office engineer) transmitted and received the first wireless signals over open sea between Lavernock Point and Flat Holm island.
Mendip HillsThe Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the Avon to the north. The hills gave their name to the former local government district of Mendip, which administered most of the local area until April 2023.
Carboniferous LimestoneCarboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period. These rocks formed between 363 and 325 million years ago. Within England and Wales, the entire limestone succession, which includes subordinate mudstones and some thin sandstones, is known as the Carboniferous Limestone Supergroup.
BristolBristol (ˈbrɪstəl) is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. On the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. It is in the West of England Combined Authority and the most populous city in South West England. The wider Bristol Built-up Area is the eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon.
GlamorganGlamorgan (ɡləˈmɔrɡən), or sometimes Glamorganshire (Morgannwg mɔrˈɡanʊɡ or Sir Forgannwg ˈsiːr vɔrˈɡanʊɡ), is one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative county of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known in Welsh as the Kingdom of Morgannwg (or Glywysing), which was then invaded and taken over by the Normans as the Lordship of Glamorgan. The area that became known as Glamorgan was both a rural, pastoral area, and a conflict point between the Norman lords and the Welsh princes.
