*** Welcome to piglix ***

Bristol Channel


The Bristol Channel (Welsh: Môr Hafren) is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city of Bristol, and is over 30 miles (50 km) across at its widest point.

Long stretches of the coastline of the Bristol Channel, on both the South Wales and West Country sides, are designated as Heritage Coast, including Exmoor, Bideford Bay, the Hartland Point peninsula, Lundy Island, Glamorgan, Gower Peninsula, South Pembrokeshire and Caldey Island.

Until Tudor times the Bristol Channel was known as the Severn Sea, and it is still known as this in both Welsh: Môr Hafren and Cornish: Mor Havren.

The International Hydrographic Organisation defines the western limit of the Bristol Channel as "a line joining Hartland Point in Devon (51°01′N 4°32′W / 51.017°N 4.533°W / 51.017; -4.533) to St. Govan's Head in Pembrokeshire (51°36′N 4°55′W / 51.600°N 4.917°W / 51.600; -4.917)".


...
Wikipedia

...