Clevedon | Cornwall Photographic

Clevedon Pier..

I’ve been wanting to photograph a pier for some time. We don’t have any in Cornwall. The nearest are in south Devon, the next county over and north Somerset, the next county over again. I had to be in Bath today and this took me conveniently close to the north Somerset pier at Clevedon.

Clevedon is one of the oldest piers in England. Building commenced in 1867 and was completed in 1869. The pier is 312 m (1,024 ft) long and consists of eight spans supported by steel rails covered by wooden decking, with a pavilion on the pier-head. The pier served as an embarkation point for paddle steamer excursions for almost exactly 100 years. Two of the spans collapsed during stress testing in 1970 and demolition was proposed, but local fund-raising and heritage grants allowed the pier to be dismantled for restoration and reassembled. It reopened in 1989, and ten years later was awarded the Pier of the Year from the National Piers Society, as well as a Civic Trust Award. The pier now, once again, offers a landing stage for steamers and is a popular attraction for tourists and anglers. There is more restoration work going on at the moment so I didn’t venture onto the pier. Access appeared a little awkward to say the least.. I will save that for another time.. :-)

55mm f/22 180 sec. ISO-50