Minehead, Somerset

Weather: Cold, windy, sunny - Min 6 Max 17

Accommodation: The Old Ship Aground 

After a very ordinary breakfast which took an inordinate amount of time to be delivered we emerged from our cosy hotel to a brisk windy day. As it was high tide the harbour was full and the little boats were furiously bobbing in the wind. We’ve now learned that Minehead has extreme tides and has the second highest range in the world. 

We walked back into the town along the esplanade and beside the 1.7kms high sea wall. It was only completed in 2001 to protect the town from severe coastal flooding, increasing erosion and storm damage. The top of the wall is curved to prevent people walking on it and falling onto the large rocks below.

The tree-lined main street of Minehead was looking attractive in the morning sunlight with the new foliage on the trees. There are many small, independent shops including teashops geared to the tourists visiting the seaside town as well as locals. 

The majority of the day was spent at Dunster Castle once owned by the Luttrell family and now owned by the National Trust. We caught the same bus as yesterday, this time retracing our route to visit the castle and its gardens. The castle is only five kilometres from Minehead sitting high overlooking the countryside and out to the sea. Yesterday, we hadn’t heard of Dunster Castle but at the end of the day we knew a lot more about it and it was well worth the visit.

Our bus stop was called Dunster Steep and we soon learned why the word ‘steep’ was added to the wording. We walked up a steep road which passed through the very small medieval village of Dunster. It’s listed as one of best-preserved medieval villages in England and it is impressive. There were many street plants and we felt Spring had indeed sprung despite the chill in the air.

In the centre of Dunster is the unique 17th century timber-framed octagonal Yarn Market built for the prosperous cloth trade.

There is a grand entrance to the castle through the 14th century Great Gatehouse. 

At the ticket office we learned there was a tour of the castle’s attics at noon and we decided to have a late morning tea and join the tour. We walked through an original 13th century gate bound in iron to go to the cafe.

Val and Sue who were our elderly guides went up the internal tower’s narrow winding steps to the attics like racing greyhounds and gave an enjoyable account of the servants’ lives and their different quarters according to their status. We came away feeling sorry for the hall boy, the lowest ranked domestic servant in the great house. He was up very early and very late to bed and seemed to do countless jobs. 

Following the tour we walked through the magnificent, comfortable castle rooms with the library/office room being my favourite. 

Lunch was calling and by this time it was 1.30pm so we headed to the cafe walking through the magnificent gardens. 

We caught the 3.00pm bus back to Minehead and passed Wetherspoons where we decided we would have dinner. It’s a bit of a tradition for us to go to a Wetherspoons pub as we have been to many on our walks in the UK. We particularly like why they were named Wetherspoons by the owner. It is the surname of one of the owner’s New Zealand teachers who couldn’t control his students and didn’t think the owner would amount to much.

The Blenheim Gardens in Minehead were looking stunning in the late afternoon sunlight when we returned to our hotel.

The tide was way out and the distinctive Butlins Minehead Resort at the end of the long beach could be seen clearly.

When we returned from dinner we unpacked and repacked our bags getting all our walking gear ready for the first day of our ten days of walking. So today wasn’t exactly a rest day but a very enjoyable one.