Bristol – Clifton Suspension Bridge, Leigh Woods, the Rock Slide, River Avon & Clifton Observatory Circular

Region: Clifton, Bristol, England

Places To Stay: Base yourself in Clifton for bookshops, pubs, cafes, restaurants and easy access to Clifton Bridge or stay anywhere in Somerset if you want to have the option of city and rural walks. Looking for more English walks? Head to my ‘England Hiking Guides‘ page to see all regions and routes.

Below are a few ideas for day tours around the Bristol area. GetYourGuide makes it easy to book + see more here.

For a bigger selection of Bristol accommodation, Booking.com has plenty of cottages, lodges and hotels to browse.

Anybody who has used Bristol Airport, or gone to watch the rugby or football, or just travelled to Bristol, will have seen ‘Clifton Suspension Bridge’, it is one of Bristol’s most recognisable landmarks, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. There is a £1 toll for motor vehicles and is free of charge to pedestrians and cyclists, we used this bridge to walk through Leigh Woods.

Getting There: Directions, GPX and Map

• Start/Finish: It was early on a Sunday morning, but the traffic was still pretty busy and I can imagine during the summer it will be a lot busier, but we parked here on the B3129 which is the road that goes over Clifton Suspension Bridge.
• Transport: Parking in Bristol is difficult, but it has excellent bus routes.
• GPX: Download the GPX file here.
• Route Finder: Follow this route on my Outdooractive profile.

Travel Data: I use eSIMs to stay connected — quick setup and no roaming faff when I’m heading further afield. Sim Local has been solid in Europe with good prices and coverage.

Hike Profile

• Distance: ~11 km (7 miles) circular
• Duration: 3–4 hours
• Highest Point: 358ft / 110m
• Difficulty: Easy (steep short climb), sometimes loose terrain through the woods.
• Terrain: Well-worn pathways most of the way around.

Flying into Bristol? Quick Skyscanner Checker

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Hike Description

You are starting at ‘Suspension Bridge Road‘, this area does get very busy pretty much every day, so plan ahead just in case you need to park somewhere else, but parking here is ideal, as you are very close to Clifton Observatory and then the bridge itself, which we are walking over.

We left the cars and walked on the path heading towards the bridge, but we decided to pop up and have a look at the bridge from the cliff top to the right, and this is where the Observatory is. It was closed as it was early on a Sunday morning, but we had a look around and then decided we would use it after the walk for a coffee break.

As you walk towards the Observatory on the left there is what the locals call the ‘The Slidey Rock‘, which is a natural rockslide on the Avon Gorge next to the Clifton Suspension Bridge. It is a popular play feature which has become shiny due to the generations of Bristolians who have slid down the gradient.

Above The Slidey Rock on the cliff edge you will get to see the magnificent ‘Clifton Suspension Bridge‘, for us it was a bit of a grey day, and there was a bit of fog, so I think on a beautiful sunny day this would be an awesome sight, but we still spent a bit of time up there looking at the bridge, over the edge of the cliff and the Observatory.

It’s easier to turn around and walk back the way we came up to this bit and once back on the road, there no missing the bridge really, but turn right and you just simply follow the pedestrian path all the way across. I’m not good with heights at all, and we did stop a few times to look over the edge and I got to be honest my knees did wobble a bit, but it’s a great experience, and you soon get used to it.

You also get magnificent views up and down the Avon Gorge and in front of you to the right you will see ‘Leigh Woods’, which is where we are heading too.

Once over the bridge, the ‘Clifton Suspension Bridge Visitor Centre‘ will be on your right, and then just after, you turn right onto North Road which again can get very busy as it’s a residential area whilst at the same leading to the entrance of ‘Leigh Woods’.

But as you continue up the road, the woods are on your right, and then the sign appears and the entrance into the woods shortly after, follow the path straight ahead, to do the walk in this direction, rather than turning down the path, as you will return up that way at the end.

As you are walking through a woods and paths run off in every direction, it’s difficult for me to accurately describe the way we went, so if it helps, it would be the perfect opportunity to use the FREE route I have uploaded to my outdooractive account, you can find it here.

The route will head left and the towards the main road that runs through the park, you will come out onto the road through a gate where a lot of people park, and we turned right followed the road for a bit, then some benches appeared on the right, so we sat there and had a bit of get together and a coffee break.

We then continued our walk through the park taking in the wildlife and the sounds and the tree’s and passing by some unique little spots whilst at the same time walking on a curve back towards the River Avon. There are other interesting parts inside the park that you can go and explore, but we thought we’d come back another day and pick another route and include some of those different parts.

As we continued on the path, we are looking to head to what is called the ‘Grotto‘, which overlooks the River Avon, and great for a little sit down break, but to get there we needed to follow a narrow path to it, and then return on that path back to a sort of junction which heads down to the railway track to walk alongside the river.

Once down to the lowest point, you will walk under a railway arch and then follow the railway line which will be on your right, whilst the river is on your left, and then before you know it the suspension bridge will appear in front of you.

There is something unique on this path, and it’s a bit of a local tourist attraction to find all of them. You will see in the pics below ‘Mr Bump’ is painted on some of the rocks, and this is a small part of what is known as ‘The Bumpsy Trail‘.

Along the River Avon and Trym in north-west Bristol are these Mr Bump tags. Some wonderful souls have graffitied not one, not ten, but FORTY pictures of Mr Bump in different places, stretching from under the M5 bridge right across to a skate park south of Hotwells, take the kids and see if you can find them all.

The walk along the ‘River Avon Trail’ is quite long, but once you are close to the bridge, an archway on your right will take you up the hill and back to where you started in the park. The walk up is quite hard, and is the only place really where you will get a workout also, it’s well looked after and there are steps, and it’s where you leave the ‘River Avon Trail‘ and join ‘Monarch’s Way‘.

Once you get your breath back and are ready to move on again, you turn left and return up the road the way you came, and back over the suspension bridge.

We all enjoy a bit of cake and coffee to finish off the walk, so we headed back to the observatory and found a great place to sit out of the rain on top of the cafe. They had some covers over the sitting area, and it was also a great place to take in the bridge again and see Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods.

Places to Stay in Clifton

For a wider choice of accommodation in Bristol, Booking.com has a huge variety to browse through.

Recommended Stays

Future Inn Bristol

This Future Inn is next to Cabot Circus shopping centre, 10 minutes’ walk from Bristol’s Temple Meads Station. It offers air-conditioned rooms, a restaurant and convenient car parking for overnight guests in the Cabot Circus car park, adjacent to the hotel.

Check availability

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel

This Victorian-style hotel has a fabulous location next to Bristol Cathedral and the historic waterfront. It features an on-site gym and a choice of restaurants. Guests get unlimited free WiFi in the public areas.

Check availability

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Practicalities

• Season: All year — brilliant in autumn colours and after rain. In winter, paths in the woods can be slippery.
• Footwear: Trail shoes are fine in dry weather; boots are better if it’s wet, especially around Leigh Woods.
• Water & food: The Observatory.
• Parking: Bristol has plenty of parking, but depends on how busy the day is.
• Dogs: Yes — great walk for dogs, but keep on a lead around the main roads.
• Good for: Views, history, a steady countryside loop, and anyone who loves finishing a walk with a proper café stop.

Leigh Woods Circular FAQs

Walk this route yourself in 3D!

The video is a 3D walkthrough of this route; it’ll give you a great idea of what to expect before you set foot on the mountain.

I’ve created 3D videos of my walks and shared them with the Outdooractive and Welsh Man Walking communities.

Bristol – Clifton Suspension Bridge, Leigh Woods, the Rock Slide, River Avon Gorge and Clifton Observatory Circular – 3D Video

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