Avon Gorge

The Avon Gorge is a 2.5km (1.5mi) long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, South West England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge 2km west of Bristol city centre and about 5km from the mouth of the river at Avonmouth. The gorge forms the boundary between the unitary authorities of North Somerset and Bristol. In the past, when Bristol was an important port, the gorge formed a spectacular defensive gateway to the city.

On the east of the gorge is the town of Clifton, part of Bristol city, and The Downs, a large public park. To the west of the gorge is Leigh Woods, the name of both a village and the National Trust forest it is situated in. There is an Iron Age hill fort on the side of the gorge in Leigh Woods.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, spans the gorge and is perhaps the best known landmark in Bristol. The A4 road runs through the gorge, linking Bristol city centre to the M5 motorway, which bypasses the city near Avonmouth. Two railways run through the gorge, on the east side the passenger railway to Avonmouth and Severn Beach runs through part of the gorge, and through a tunnel under the downs, while on the west side is the former railway to Portishead, which was closed by the Beeching Axe in the 1960s, but has now been reopened for freight traffic as far as Royal Portbury Dock, 4km (2.5mi) downstream.

At various times the sides of the gorge have been quarried, leaving steep gorge walls, now popular with climbers and a habitat for Peregrine Falcons.