Cock Road Ridge Open Space

Cock Road Ridge Open Space is a local nature reserve on the eastern edge of Bristol in Kingswood with magnificent views over Bristol and towards Bath.

A hidden little oasis for local dog walkers, this nature reserve has small pockets of woodland, an apple orchard and large meadows that your dog will love to run through. There’s also an impressive oak tree at the bottom of the reserve that dwarfs all other trees. There is a pond, but dogs can’t swim as it’s fenced off for wildlife.

As the name suggests it comprises a ridge of land, running between Mount Hill and Cadbury Heath. It is approximately one kilometre in length.

The history

‘Cock Road Ridge is within what was once the ancient Royal Kingswood Forest. The Forest was an area of about 18 square miles running from the River Severn to the Sodbury Hills, and then south towards Lansdown near Bath, across the River Avon to Filwood in Somerset, and then north again to the Severn with Bristol to the west. The Forest was part of the domains of the Saxon kings who hunted deer and other game here from their royal palace at Pucklechurch.

Cock Road possibly took its name some centuries ago from the practice of keeping narrow pathways through the forest for the purpose of driving birds, such as woodcock, to trap them. The Great Oak by the pond is possibly one of the original trees.’

– Friends of Cock Road Ridge

Additional information

Address

Cock Road Ridge Open Space
Cock Road
Kingswood
BS15 9SJ

Parking

On street parking. There are multiple entrances to the nature reserve, including multiple on Cock Road, one on Wraxall Road and Belsher Drive. We parked on Cock Road, opposite a little lane that takes you to the nature reserve.

Paws for thought

No paved paths and a steep hill

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