There were 13 people who joined this walk on a dry but cold day.

We started walking by a tributary river of the River Parrett into one area of Bridgwater docks, where there is a blend of new and old buildings.

We meandered into the centre, down some very old streets and buildings into St. Mary’s Church, where we had coffee and biscuits.

The Church is very interesting inside and out with intricately carved wooden ceilings, panels and much more. We continued on through the streets where we saw many unusual buildings of the past, eg corn exchange and the first building in the world to be made of pre-cast concrete, not that it looked like it.

We continued down to the main docks on the River Parrett passing very impressive large dwellings built for the merchants.

Continuing by the river we walked over one of Brunel’s designed bridges which was made of wood in 1871, this perished and it was remade in metal by Sir Francis Fox.

This was the first metal telescopic bridge in the world, which opened to allow tall ships to sail by.

Bridgwater docks have not been used for many years but lots of old equipment remained.

At the end of the walk we had a very enjoyable lunch at The Malt Shovel.

Report by Jenny Ellis
Photos by Ross Janes and Jeff Eastmond