Brean Down Fort - Exploring the preserved fort on the Bristol Channel

Brean Down Fort is situated on the east coast of the Bristol Channel, south of Weston-Super-Mare. Constructed between 1864 and 1871, the coastal artillery fort was used from its construction until 1901 when it was abandoned and rearmed in 1940.
Its strategic location at the entrance of the bristol channel was vital to protecting the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff ports, originally from the French navy and latterly the German fleet. The nineteenth-century fort shares many similarities with the 3 other forts on the Bristol Channel at Steep Holm Island, Flat Holm Island and Lavernock Point.
The fort was originally armed with seven 7-inch rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns. When these guns were being installed, they were nearing the end of their useful life. As advances in naval arms and armaments were being driven forward, many of the British forts were being outgunned. But as the threat declined, the desire to upgrade the forts also dwindled, and Brean Down was primarily used for training. The 7-inch RML guns were removed in 1901.
The rearming of the fort in 1940 saw two 6-inch Mark 7 coastal artillery guns being installed, along with two coastal artillery searchlight emplacements and a two-storey battery observation post.
Visit my website packed full of resources and research articles
frontlineulster.co.uk
I have over 8,000 photographs on Flickr, check it out!
www.flickr.com/photos/intrepi...
Follow me on Instagram for more content and special finds
/ intrepidexplorer82
#frontlineulster #militaryhistory #urbex #urbexengland #goexplore #explore #exploremore #gopohero11mini #djimini3pro #abandoned #abandonedmilitary #militaryabandoned #abandonedplaces #forgottenplaces #secondworldwar #worldwartwo #abandonedfort #coastalartillery #westonsupermare #breandown #nationaltrust
The soundtrack on this video is Ice & Fire by King Canyon from the KZbin audio library.

[@tonycardall7334]

I went there over the weekend,I walked a total of 11 miles and climbed 220 steps .

[@pcka12]

A place i have visited many times, it wasn't very 'preserved' until recently!

[@frontlineulster]

Preservation is often a result of the risk of litigation! I absolutely prefer sites that are abandoned and left for nature to recover; but sites like Brean are special. It's accessible, it tells the story of the Bristol Channel defences spanning 100 years, and it will look relatively unchanged in another 100 years. For a real adventure, visit Flat Holm or Steep Holm islands. There the conservation approach is very different, or visit Lavernock Fort, where there was no conservation plan and the original fort has been largely covered up, demolished or modified beyond recognition.

[@lynstyles6628]

He still haunts the place trust me

[@lynstyles6628]

Iv spent nights there twice n spooky as fuck

[@michaelturner4457]

I see the Banksy tag is no longer there.

[@frontlineulster]

What a shame, I had no idea there was a Banksy tag at Brean!

[@adienowed6366]

A fascinating tour of a piece of history and interestingly and well narrated. Such a shame though,that these places of great interest have to daubed with the crass and moronic efforts of the cretinous idiots who believe that graffiti garbage is somehow 'artwork'.

[@frontlineulster]

Thank you! Graffiti is prevalent at many of these sites, but I still can't understand what motivates people to vandalise them in this way. I'm glad you enjoyed this video and hope you check out some of my other videos too.

[@michaelturner4457]

There used to be a Banksy "artwork" in one of the rooms.