LOCATION: The Three Peaks Circular Walk (Avon) is a challenging, hilly, 16–17 mile loop through the Chew Valley and the northern Mendip fringe, connecting three modest but characterful summits.

DISTANCE: 16.5 miles / 27 km

SUMMARY: This is Somerset’s answer to the Yorkshire Three Peaks — less severe, but rich in history, landscape variety, and rural atmosphere:

• Maes Knoll — an Iron Age hillfort (250 BC) with huge views over Bristol and the Chew Valley. In WWII, the Home Guard used Maes Knoll as a lookout over Bristol

• Knowle Hill — a grassy, rounded summit with a bench perfectly placed to overlook Chew Valley Lake and the Mendip Hills. It is the most serene of the three peaks — a place of skylarks, long views, and gentle slopes.

• Blackberry Hill — is the least dramatic but completes the trilogy. It rises near Clutton and Lord’s Wood, forming part of the limestone plateau that runs between the Chew Valley and the Cam Brook. The area is rich in woodland ponds, wildlife, and old mining/quarrying traces.

The walk forms a natural amphitheatre around the River Chew, passing through Chew Magna, Pensford, Clutton, North Wick, Lord’s Wood, and Hunstrete Plantation.

It is a route of woodland, farmland, ancient monuments, and river crossings, with the dramatic Pensford Viaduct as a centrepiece, a 95‑foot‑high former railway bridge that strides across the River Chew. A footpath passes directly beneath it, giving one of the most dramatic viewpoints in the valley.

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Based on LDWA and corroborating route descriptions.

Stage 1 — Chew Magna → Knowle Hill

Leave Chew Magna via lanes and field paths. Climb Knowle Hill for early panoramic views over Chew Valley Lake.

Stage 2 — Knowle Hill → Clutton → Blackberry Hill

Descend to Tynemoor Wood and continue to Clutton, a village with mining heritage. Climb Blackberry Hill through mixed woodland and farmland.

Stage 3 — Blackberry Hill → Lord’s Wood → Pensford

Cross Hunstrete Plantation and Lord’s Wood, passing wildlife‑rich ponds. Descend to Pensford, entering beneath the soaring viaduct.

Stage 4 — Pensford → Maes Knoll

Follow the River Chew briefly, then climb steadily to Maes Knoll, the highest and most dramatic of the three peaks.

Stage 5 — Maes Knoll → North Wick → Chew Magna

Descend to North Wick, then return to Chew Magna via quiet lanes and field paths, completing the circuit.

PUBS: The Pelican in Chew Magna; The Rising Sun at Pensford; Hunters Rest on Clutton Hill; Also try The Railway Inn, Clutton.