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- The Brean Down Peninsula lies at the southernmost end of Weston Bay where the western tip of the Mendip Hills disappear into the Bristol Channel only to reappear finally at Steepholm 5 miles away
- 320 feet in height the Down is adjacent to 7 miles of sandy beach to the south also
- A National Trust protected site good for interesting plants and birds
- In 1897 from Brean Down, a Marconi wireless message was successfully transmitted to Lavernock point on the Welsh coast 9 miles away - the largest distance for such a transmission at that time
- The Down has always had a defence significance
- contains a small Iron Age fort
- Up to the end of the 19th century cannon protected the approaches of the Bristol Channel mainly from possible invasion by Napolean
- The victorian barracks were deserted then until renewed repair and fortification activity in the 1940s
- Whilst the outer fortification provided protection the inside housed the testing ground with a short track of rail on which missiles were launched driven by rockets across the waves Dambuster bouncing bomb style.
- ***Warning*** The Down cannot be reached from Uphill across the River Axe. The only access is via Brean.
- For further reading see “Somerset v Hitler - Secret Operations in the Mendips 1939 - 1945” by Donald Brown
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