River Axe

The River Axe rises inside Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills and cuts a V-shaped valley through limestone. It flows west past Wookey village, where it splits into two channels before reuniting near Knowle Moor. The river then passes through Wedmore Moor and Oxmoor, marking the boundary between Sedgemoor and North Somerset before reaching the Bristol Channel at Weston Bay. The river’s underground journey begins with water entering swallets and resurging at Wookey Hole, the second largest resurgence on Mendip. Its catchment covers 46.2 square kilometres and discharges an average of 789 litres per second. The Axe once carried European trade from the port of Rackley, where a French ship arrived in the 14th century. Later, slate and iron were imported through this route until the Axe Drainage Act of 1915 ended navigation. Visitors can walk the river’s banks from Wookey to Weston Bay, passing seasonal wetlands and moors. The only remaining watermill stands at Burcott, while tidal limits are marked by sluice gates at Bleadon and Brean Cross. The landscape shows signs of its industrial past, with old wharves at Axbridge and traces of the diverted river course near Crook Peak.