7 Miles miles walked since starting ... Wake up to low-lying grey cloud cover in our little orchard on Dowlais Farm, with the sound and thud of apples dropping on canvas.  It’s time to get up and enjoy our last walk of the holiday. It’s a short drive into Clevedon to find street parking, along the elegant red bricks and wander back towards the pier.  The signpost says just 6 miles to Portishead.  Follow the ornate railings to the pier which today we are too early for opening time! The coast path follows the road behind the houses with the sea view then swiftly down a path [...]

8.5 Miles miles walked since starting ... After two very full days of walking we gift ourselves a lazy start this morning.  A fresh sourdough from a local bakery goes down nicely with a cheesy omelette and home-made plum jam from our campsite. Despite the bus timetables changing overnight we don’t wait long for a bus from Clevedon back to Worle Station, but the timetable goes out the window when we hit a traffic jam on the M5. We re-trace our tracks on foot through a residential district of Weston-Super-Mare to where we left off yesterday, setting off from Ebdon early afternoon. Today’s walk is [...]

11 Miles miles walked since starting ... We’ve opted to park our car “before 9” for an early bird ticket at the NCP in the centre of Weston-Super-Mare.  We then catch the number 20 bus (although very nearly miss it while talking to a young seagull looking for food) from the interchange back to Brean Village Hall, where we finished off yesterday. It’s a well-trodden footpath / cycle route alongside the road to the Diamond Farm campsite.  Just before the campsite in a little farm courtyard is the rather smart looking Café 33 where Nigel buys a coffee and I opt not get a drink. It’s funny [...]

13 Miles miles walked since starting ... We motored to Somerset yesterday and pitched our tent in an orchard at a tiny “Green” campsite jut outside Clevedon. There’s rain forecast from midday so we’re up early and parked up in Highbridge and ready to go before 9am.  Wander between the river and the houses to Highbridge Clyce where we crossed back in May.  The coast path signs take us down an extremely narrow alleyway which gets more and more unkempt as we go but finally emerges by the river Brue just before it reaches the river Parrett and Bridgwater Bay. It's a busy towpath this [...]

11 1/2 Miles miles walked since starting ... It’s the last day of our trip and time to pack up the bell tent. The sun is shining so we take our time, chat to other campers and the campsite owner then chuck the last few bits in the car and drive to the outskirts of Burnham-on-sea – todays walk destination. We’ve timed and positioned it well as the bus stop is just behind the car park and we have just a few minutes to wait to board the bus.  We alight at the Admiral’s Table, cross back over the busy A38 and follow the coast path signs [...]

11 Miles miles walked since starting ... We’ve said goodbye to Jen, Dean and Heather and we have a long walk ahead of us, not along the coast but up the River Parrett estuary. But first the quandary of getting our car to the end spot.  All goes smoothly until we are waiting at Bridgwater bus station and realise the community bus serving Hinckley Point power station doesn’t run on a Bank Holiday!  Of all the days for us to choose, eh? Thankfully Dean hasn’t packed up the campervan yet so very kindly picks us up and takes us back to Combwich. Hence it is [...]

12 Miles miles walked since starting ... We’ve eaten at the Babbling Brook Inn, watched the snooker world championships in our tent lit up by the glow from Hinckley Point and got frustrated with the dog in the next door tent that won’t stop woofing. Make sandwiches, move a car to Combwich then Dean, Nigel and I head straight from the campsite back to the coast path. We start at a major roundabout outside the power stations then round the far side of the humming development back towards the beach, under the strings of power lines feeding electricity away. It’s surprisingly idyllic with a grass [...]

11 Miles miles walked since starting ... As promised to ourselves, we arrive (now 5 adults and 3 dogs) squeezed in one car, at East Quay, Watchett. After sourdough topped with poached egg, bacon and home made baked beans we peruse the gift shop then head around the quay to find the coast path. For the first half hour the going is easy – up and over the cliff to Helwell Bay.  We can hear the sounds of Saturday morning football practice coming from behind the glorious row of pines and cypress trees. The single track of the West Somerset Railway hiding between [...]

7 1/2 Miles miles walked since starting ... A first for rollercoaster – we (Nigel and I are accompanied by his sister, Heather) arrive at our start point by steam train.  We’ve pitched our tent nearby and driven to Watchett to catch the much delayed but hugely anticipated 14:12 to Minehead. Minehead station, with its massive railway signs and numerous platforms is heaving this  Bank Holiday weekend. We join the steam enthusiasts capturing the Robin Hood putting into the station then exit to the seafront. With honeycomb ice cream in a waffle cone, we set to walk the West Somerset coast path. It [...]

10 Miles miles walked since starting ... After a delightful two-night stay at the Porlock Weir hotel, I check out while Nigel takes the car to Minehead, returning on the community bus. The sun is shining across the bay as we look across Porlock’s stoney beach to the modest hills of Hurlstone Point. Porlock’s pebbles are mottled greys and pinks, tumbled smooth and not too difficult to walk over.  I marvel over a modest sized oak tree with its trunk constantly licked by the salty sea, it’s surviving, but I’m not quite sure how? The path turns inland where’s there has been coastal [...]