Clifton Down

There is an Iron Age hill fort at Clifton Camp on Observatory Hill on the down, and there are remnants of an Iron Age or Roman field system between Ladies Mile and Bristol Zoo. The Roman road from Bath to Sea Mills crossed the Downs near Stoke Road, and a short length is visible as a slightly raised grassy bank. William Worcester described a presumably turf-cut figure of the giant Ghyst on Clifton Down in 1480. In the Middle Ages Clifton Down was the commons of pasture for the manor of Clifton. It was also valuable farmland used by many farms in the area. In 1676 and 1686 the manor of Clifton was purchased by the Society of Merchant Venturers. During the 18th century Clifton became a…

Near Clifton village is the site of the Observatory, a small tower with a camera obscura at the top. Located close to the observatory is an open face of rock that has been used as a slide by generations of Bristolians and students. This "rock slide" has become polished and is now an attraction to visitors. A railway tunnel, Clifton Down Tunnel, passes underneath Clifton on the line from Temple Meads to Severn Beach. One portal is in Clifton near Clifton Down railway station; the other in the Avon Gorge far below Clifton Down. There are three air shafts for the tunnel: two in vertical tower form (near the zoo, and in Walcombe Slade gulley) with the third being a horizontal tunnel on the…