7 1/2 Miles
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 feels strange to not be on the South West Coast Path having walked it since early 2018!
Seashells on the pavement guiding the way, as our eyes are drawn from them to the sun-bathers on the beach so early in the season and Butlines. The “tent” certainly needs a clean and the Art Deco apartments need a re-furb but there are plenty of cars arriving full of smiling faces ready for a “big on fun, small on spends” family holiday.
At the end of the prom we take the short but steep climb up a sandy pathway to the edge of the Minehead and West Somerset golf course. We duck and cover our heads when necessary. Looking across the Bristol Channel to where we imagine Gavin and Stacey are riding the log flumes on Barry Island.
The sandy path turns to gravel, now bordered by the grey leaves and spiky stems of sea buckthorn, the orange fruit yet to form. Then a pill box marks the end of the golf course and we arrive at Dunster beach with its array of holiday lodges. We are pleased of the shade of the pine trees around the Kingfisher Kiosk – its seems early in the season to be looking for sun shelter. Stop for a fruit break. Looking inland we can just about make out Dunster Castle perched on a wooded mound. Outside one lodge a man is bizarrely moving barrow loads of sand from his garden to the beach?
The pebbles underfoot – light grey and dusty pink are tumbled smooth, the other side of a granite breakwater parallel to the sea is a perfect sandy beach under blue skies.
After the Dunster car park we follow a tree lined path for a bit then back out onto the pebbles before climbing the steps to Blue Anchor. The tiny hamlet has a long promenade, the delightful houses boasting a view out to sea.
Jen and Dean are parked up waiting in their van, the kettle boiling for a cuppa to accompany a buttered slice of home-made fruit cake. Thank you, Jen😊
Leaving Heather to journey back in the campervan we leave Blue Anchor behind and take the path from the road to the cliff top. The sun is shimmering on the sea, now at low tide as we look back over Blue Anchor towards the hills in distance – Bossington Hill? Cross the field and delve into Cridland’s Copse. It feels comforting to be surrounded by trees – coppiced hazels, flowering hawthorns, creeping ivy and brambles and ferns unfurling in the dappled sunlight. Wood pigeons are coo-ing, robins tweeting and the trees buzzing with insects, butterflies emerging – bliss.
I stop to admire the impressive bend of an ancient oak, its leaves and complex twig structure illuminated architecturally against the blue sky. We get a brief view over the sea and mud flats, round the edge of a mowed field then back into woodlands. This time the hazels in desperate need of coppicing.
A grassy field devoid of a castle turns out to be the hill fort site of Daw’s Castle – it was certainly an impressive view looking east and up the Bristol Channel. Here we find our first, brand spanking new, fingerpost saying King Charles III England Coast Path. Onto a stretch of road, with no need to worry about cars, as it has been indefinitely closed to traffic due to cliff erosion. We weave around massive concrete bollards and heras fencing into Watchett.
Delightful red brick terraces and stone clad homes line the road into the seaside town. They certainly seem an arty bunch that live here – there’s a high sea wall adorned with paintings of seaside days gone by; an artwork of a miner made of rusty (and non-rusty) nails; a metal sculpture dedicated to Derek the Goose and a fabulous hand drawn map of the town.
We are drawn to live music across the quay, playing from a former mill, now gallery, shop, holiday homes, artists studio and lively bar and restaurant on the Easy Quay. Waving at the people in the bath in their pod in the air we vow to come back in the morning for breakfast.
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