AVONMOUTH

If you find yourself barrelling down the M5 on the way, perhaps, to a holiday in the West Country, you will be carried high above the mouth of the River Avon by a long motorway bridge, giving extensive views of Avonmouth on the east bank and The Royal Portbury Dock on the west bank, the latter characterised by rows of brand new vehicles as far as the eye can see in the Dock's huge car storage compounds.  The scene laid out below the motorway bridge is overwhelmingly industrial, however there are people living in the area, and they sometimes suffer from their surroundings.  Last summer the local inhabitants were driven mad by a fly infestation caused by inappropriate handling of large amounts of waste material being held at a nearby facility.  Some were driven to adorning their houses with fly-catching adhesive strips in a desperate attempt to kill off the winged invaders.  Surprisingly, in amongst all this industrial landscape there is a nature reserve, the Avonmouth Pools Reserve at the Sewage Works, which provides an unlikely haven for birds and ducks including pochard, tufted duck, teal and shoveler.

Map of the area. 

A new addition to the skyline at Avonmouth Docks - geograph.org.uk - 575542. Photo by Sharon Loxton, via Wikimedia Commons.