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The 'Bristol Channel' () is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from the West Country and extending from the lower estuary of the River Severn (''Afon Hafren'') to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea (''Môr Celtaidd''). It takes its name from the English city of Bristol and is over 30 miles (50km) across at its widest point.
The lower limit of the Bristol Channel is St Govans Head in Pembrokeshire, Lundy Island, and Hartland Point in Devon. The upper limit is a straight line between Sand Point, Somerset and Lavernock Point in South Wales. East of this line is the Severn estuary. Western and Northern Pembrokeshire and North Cornwall are outside of the limit of the Bristol Channel, and are considered part of the seaboard of the Atlantic Ocean, although Bude in North Cornwall during the industrial era was often called by sailors on their way to Cardiff as "the gateway/entrance to the Bristol Channel".
The Bristol Channel, on both the South Wales and West Country sides, has more miles of Heritage Coast seaboard than any other stretch of water in the U.K. Heritage coastlines include Exmoor, Bideford Bay, the Hartland Point peninsula, Glamorgan, Gower Peninsula and South Pembrokeshire.
In 2004, The Times "Travel" magazine selected Barafundle Bay in Pembrokeshire as one of the best 12 best beaches in the world, and in 2007 Oxwich Bay made the same aforementioned magazine's Top 12 best beaches in the world list and it also selected Oxwich as Britain's best beach for 2007. The Bristol Channel and nearby Celtic Sea beaches of Wales, North Devon and North Cornwall are acknowledged by many travel magazine writers as the best in the U.K for sand/water quality.

Contents

Ecology

Coastal cities and towns

Transport

Road and Rail

Paddle steamers

Severn Barrage

1607 flood

Ecology

At low tide large parts of the channel become mud flats due to the tidal range of 15 metres, the second largest in the world. The Bristol Channel is an important area for wildlife, in particular waders, and has protected areas, including National Nature Reserves such as Bridgwater Bay at the mouth of the River Parrett. Development schemes have been proposed along the channel, including an airport and a tidal barrier for electricity generation, but conservation issues have so far managed to block such schemes.
Major islands in the Bristol Channel are Lundy, Steep Holm and Flat Holm. The islands and headlands provide some shelter for the upper reaches of the channel from storms. These islands are mostly uninhabited and protected as nature reserves, and are home to some unique wild flower species.
The Bristol Channel has beaches and spectacular scenery, particularly on the coast of Exmoor and Bideford Bay in Devon and the likes of the Vale of Glamorgan and the Gower Peninsula on the Glamorgan coast. The western stretch of Exmoor boasts the highest cliffs in mainland Britain, culminating near Combe Martin in the gigantic 'Great Hangman', a 1043ft 'hog-backed' hill with a cliff-face of 820ft; its sister cliff 'The Little Hangman' has a cliff-face of 716ft. On the Gower Peninsula, at its western extremity is the Worms Head, a serpent shaped island of carboniferous limestone which is approachable at low tide only. The beaches of Gower (at Rhossili, for example) and North Devon (at Woolacombe for example) win awards for their water quality and setting, as well as their excellent surfing.

Coastal cities and towns

The Bristol Channel is a dangerous area of water because of its strong tides and the rarity of havens on the north Cornish and north Devon coasts that can be entered in all states of the tide. A sailor's rhyme goes "Twixt Hartland Point and Padstow Bay is a sailor's grave by night or day." Because of the treacherous waters, pilotage is an essential service for shipping. A specialised style of sailing boat the Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter developed in the area.
In the Severn estuary above Avonmouth, river rescue is provided by Severn Area Rescue Association, while in Burnham-on-Sea the Burnham-On-Sea Area Rescue Boat (BARB)[1] uses a hovercraft to rescue people from the treacherous mud flats on that part of the coast. A hovercraft was recently tested to determine the feasibility of setting upa similar rescue service in Weston-super-Mare.
The city of Bristol, situated on the River Avon, gives its name to the Channel and was once one of the most important ports in Britain. There are still docks in the city centre, but these are largely now given over to leisure use. Bristol's dock activity has now been transferred to the nearby Severn estuary at Avonmouth Docks and Royal Portbury Dock. Resort towns on the Bristol Channel include Weston-super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea, Watchet, Minehead and Porlock in Somerset; and Ilfracombe, Bideford and Barnstaple in Devon.
The Welsh capital, Cardiff, is on the northern side of the estuary, with Cardiff Bay protected behind the Cardiff Bay Barrage. Further west is the city of Swansea with a fine marina. Important ports on the Welsh coast include Milford Haven, a major oil import terminal. Resort towns and villages on the Welsh coastline include Penarth, Llantwit Major, Mumbles and Barry with Barry Island.

Transport

Road and Rail

There are no road and rail crossings in the Bristol Channel. The bridges and tunnel of the Severn crossing are located on the River Severn.

Paddle steamers

P and A Campbell of Bristol were the main operators of pleasure craft and particularly paddle steamers, from the mid-1800s to the late 1970s, also the Barry Railway Company. These served harbours along both coasts, such as Ilfracombe, Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare.
This tradition is continued each summer by the PS Waverley, the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world (built in 1947). The steamer provides pleasure trips between the Welsh and English coasts and to the islands of the channel.

Severn Barrage

The proposed Severn Barrage would constitute a third road crossing.

1607 flood

:''Main article: Bristol Channel floods, 1607''
On 30 January 1607 (New style) thousands of people were drowned, houses and villages swept away, farmland inundated and flocks destroyed when a flood hit the shores of the channel. The devastation was particularly bad on the Welsh side from Laugharne in Carmarthenshire to above Chepstow on the English border. Cardiff was the most badly affected town. There remain plaques up to 8 ft above sea level to show how high the waters rose on the sides of the surviving churches. It was commemorated in a contemporary pamphlet "''God's warning to the people of England by the great overflowing of the waters or floods''."
The cause of the flood is disputed: it had long been believed that the floods were caused by a combination of meteorological extremes and tidal peaks, but research published in 2002 has shown evidence of a tsunami in the Channel.