Shirehampton put-in (Bristol)

Downstream it is about a mile to the M5 Avonmouth Bridge, whose deck clears 30 metres above mean high water, and the confluence with the Severn Estuary. Upstream the river passes Horseshoe Bend, then the mouth of the River Trym at Sea Mills, before winding into the wooded Avon Gorge beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge and reaching the Cumberland Basin locks at Hotwells. Opposite, on the south bank, is the North Somerset village of Pill, where the drying creek of Crockerne Pill holds moorings that sit in a mud wallow at low water.

Near high water the channel carries seagoing ships bound for Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Docks, with vessels of draught up to 14.5 metres; car carriers can approach King Road at up to 20 knots over the ground. As the tide ebbs, the river falls away to a steep-sided muddy channel, and the ground beyond the end of the slip is mud. Tidal streams in the estuary run at around 1.5 m/s at spring tides and 0.75 m/s at neap tides, and a north-westerly, northerly or north-easterly wind blowing against the tide raises a short, steep sea in King Road, downstream of the put-in.

The Severn Estuary here is designated a Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation and Ramsar wetland for its migratory birds and habitats; 64 waterbird species, including 21 shorebird and 13 gull species, have been recorded on this tidal reach of the Avon. A short distance upstream, the wooded cliff at Horseshoe Bend is a 4.45-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest for its population of the true service-tree, the largest known population in England.