Brean Down is a headland in Somerset which extends out towards the island of Steep Holm. It’s the last gasp of the Mendip Hills. A fort at the tip of Brean Down contains numerous hefty gun emplacements, overlooking the Bristol Channel. There are similar fortifications on Steep Holm and Flat Holm, forming a defensive chain across the Channel. In the 1860′s during the run-up to the Franco-Prussian War, the expensive forts were commissioned by Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, to defend Britain from a threat which never came.
Palmerston was rumoured to have died whilst frollicking with a maid on a billiard table. This is totally unrelated to Brean Down.
South of Brean Down is Bridgewater Bay, where tides retreat up to five miles offshore. Unlike Brean Down, this isn’t a good sea paddling location.
