Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - The Bristol Channel District Guide - selected articles - [1934 Edition] . . . .

For vessels of deep draught this is one of the most dangerous points of the river, the tidal forces on the bend being very deceptive. Away on the heights above is situated King's Weston Park, containing the residence of Mr. Napier P. Miles, J.P., of which we get a passing view at Shirehampton, a short distance ahead.

It was here that William III, was entertained by his friend, Sir Robert Southwell, on his return from Ireland. Shirehampton Park, by the liberality of Mr. Napier Miles, now belongs to the National Trust.

As we sail along Hung-road, an ancient anchoring ground for tide-bound vessels, we have on our left a ridge of low perpendicular rocks fringed with trees. On the face of this natural wall may still be seen the rings used by the privateers and trading ships of bygone ages, to make fast to the shore. Privateering by Bristolians, of which R. L, Stevenson gives us a view in " Treasure Island, " rose to great height in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Bristol privateers at that period are said to have been as numerous and as well armed as was the entire Navy during the reign of Queen Elizabeth ! The privateer which brought home Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe) besieged a Spanish town, attacked and took ships on the high seas, and netted £170,000 in eighteen months. The imaginative may conjure up many a picture of stirring scenes witnessed on the Avon here.

We next get abreast of the tiny harbour of Pill, with its quaint village, the home of the hardy local pilots.