Begin the walk at the Grade II listed Weston-super-Mare railway station – opened in 1884 on a new loop which replaced the 1841 branch line. Brunel’s Grade II listed signal box is in the adjacent car park as a reminder of the previous trackway.

From the station, go over the zebra crossing onto Station Road and note the row of 1930s Art Deco houses on your left, and walk past local architect Hans Fowler Price’s French-style depository, which has been a storage facility for over 100 years. Hans Price was the architect responsible for much of the development of Weston-super-Mare during the Victorian era and much of his work can be discovered throughout the town centre.

Behind the 20m Pennant and Ham stone tower of Victoria Methodist Church is the 190-year-old Whitecross Lodge, former home of Richard Parsley who built Weston’s first hotel.

As you continue towards the town centre, you will pass the 1934 former magistrates’ court, which has been used for several television dramas.

At the road junction, look left towards Walliscote Primary School, built in 1897 by Hans Price as Weston’s first ‘board school’.

Turn right past the Italianate Town Hall, opened in 1859, extended by Hans Price in 1897, further extended in ‘Post Office Georgian’ in 1927, and the brick wing added in 1980.

Walking towards Regent Street you pass The Centre, a row of recently repainted Art
Deco shops and apartments, finishing with Cecil Howitt’s modernist 1935 Odeon cinema.

Opposite the Odeon, is Alexandra Parade, an elongated open space previously known as The Plantation. This is where Weston’s first railway station opened in 1841. The scale replica locomotive North Star, installed in 2006, commemorates the 200th anniversary of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s birth.

The original station hotel is now the Tavern Inn The Town pub. From here head towards Big Lamp Corner.

From here you can see the Silica, a piece of public art designed by Wolfgang Buttress in 2006. There are also several impressive buildings in this area, particularly Costa Coffee (can you spot the elephants?) and HSBC bank.

As you walk along the High Street, look up above shop level at the variety of windows, carvings and other details. At the far end, the newly refurbished Italian Gardens provides a spot to sit and relax among the classical balustrading, fountains and lawns. Spot the 1807 Royal Hotel and Olea restaurant and bar. These were both Weston’s first hotels. Also SASS bar, an 1860s former bank in Florentine palazzo style; the new University Centre at the Winter Gardens; and the 1992 Sovereign, a recently renovated mix use space with an attractive café, cycle hub, retail and work space.

Turn right into Waterloo Street and the Boulevard. Spot the former office for the Weston and Somerset Mercury newspaper and adjacent buildings, together with the Constitutional Club (former Masonic Lodge of St Kew), and the row of shops, all by Hans Price in the 1880s.

Turn next right into Orchard Street – a busy road of independent businesses including a florist, Asian and East European food stores and restaurants, craft and dress shops.

In adjacent Burlington Street is Weston Museum, superbly redesigned in 2017. This hub of independent retailing extends into Meadow Street.

At the end of Orchard Street you’ll find yourself back in Alexandra Parade where
steps can be easily retraced to the railway station.