NEW for weekend 3 & 4 July 2021
This Wildlife & Habitats Walk focuses on the many species of birds which can be seen around Sharpness Docks and the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
The habitats include the canal and old dock basin, the Severn Estuary with its mudflats, sandbanks, reed beds & salt marshes, plus brownfield sites covered in wildflower meadows & shrubs.
Lots of photos to help you identify water birds, birds of prey & others.
Plus map & directions for this short walk.
Here are the ‘issues’ or objections regarding the development as identified by BaSRAG.
You can read them here without having to download a file.
Here you can easily browse the ‘BaSRAG executive summary response’ document as we have pasted it into this page!
A very quick summary of the local development sites + the link to the Berkeley Cluster’s Local Plan are also included here.
And the link to BaSRAG’s response guide is included too.
NEW for weekend 19 & 20 June 2021
This walk is a set of viewpoints which can all be visited and enjoyed individually! These can be combined with a very short stroll around each viewpoint’s area, or joined up using local byways.
The viewpoints have been selected for their scenic views and to highlight coastal/tidal flooding, river/fluvial flooding, and standing water.
Map, photos, tips, and helpful info are all here.
NEW for weekend 12 & 13 June 2021
This walk takes you along Berkeley Pill to a wild and remote spot where it runs into the Severn. This area provides essential high tide roosts for birds.
The walk them continues beside the River Severn’s upper estuary to the Sharpness picnic. All this stretch of the river is part of the Severn’s internationally important & protected Site of Special Scientific Interest and wetland RAMSAR site.
Map and easy directions with photos are included here.
The developers and Stroud district council are promising a new railway link – but travelling north only, not south to Bristol!
In reality, the likelihood of this new rail link happening are as good as zero. The reasons for the false promises and why the new railway link and new stations will not happen are explained here.
Sea levels are rising and that is not in doubt.
Maps from Climate Central show what land will be under water by 2050.
Here we show the map for the Berkeley & Sharpness area and it is shocking!
What can be done about it?
Here in the Vale of Berkeley we live right beside one of the world’s extreme geographical features – the second highest tidal range in the world!
Here is an interesting article about record high tides here on the upper Severn Estuary.
And with rising sea levels, what does the future hold?
NEW for weekend 5 & 6 June 2021
This lovely walk consists of 2 loops which can be started in Berkeley, Newtown (Sharpness) or Wanswell. The loops can be done as shorter individual walks, or joined together.
There are magical green lanes, big views of the Severn, and gently sloping lush green meadows with ancient oaks. With the buttercups currently out, the scenery is full of natural beauty.
In terms of the impact of the proposed development, one loop highlights employment and the other education.
Map, easy directions and photos are all here.
NEW for Spring Bank Holiday weekend 29/30/31 May 2021
This walk goes around the perimeter of the land by on which Stroud is proposing 5,000 new houses be built in the Berkeley & Sharpness area.
The route takes you over lush green fields and by the internationally important Severn SSSI & Ramsar site. You will be able to see first hand the sheer scale of Stroud’s plans to build over all this countryside.
Map, directions and photos all included.
NEW for weekend 22 & 23 May 2021
The first walk has a ‘railway theme’ and has been split into two very easy, short walks due to the weather and recent rainfall. This Berkeley walk takes you to the old Berkeley Station and the heritage railway project which are well worth a look. Even if you walk just the very short and paved first bit of this route, you will have an interesting and rewarding walk.
Map, easy directions and photos are all here.