Weston Big Wood

The wood itself dates at least from Iron Age times, with some evidence that there has been woodland here since trees began to recolonise after the last ice age some 10,000 years ago. Some of its internal features e.g. old stones, ditches and banks are thought to be medieval boundaries, dating from the Middle Ages and used to divide the wood into sectors. More recently, after the manor of North Weston was sold to the City of Bristol in 1637, marker stones were placed to mark a boundary across the woodland. These stones, marked with C.B. (City of Bristol), remain in place and can be found by looking at the old OS maps of the 19th century. Adjacent to the wood on its southern side is the…

There are four main entry points to the woodland. The first (at 51.471456,-2.790383) is from a minor road which leads north from the Portishead to Weston in Gordano road; just past the civic amenity site. It enters the north west side of the wood and leads up a set of steps to the main circular path through the woods. The second entrance (at 51.467293,-2.783898) leads past the old quarries along a pathway which leads along the south eastern side of the wood. The third entrance is off Underwood Road in Portishead (at 51.472967,-2.777782) and enters the eastern side of the wood. The final entrance (at 51.4750278, -2.7835127) is from the fields adjacent to the northern side of the woods. A…