[Continued from this morning.]
There are a lot of steep steps to climb to get to the top of Brean Down – about 150 I think, although I don’t bother to count.
And this is a popular walking route, so there are plenty of people trudging up alongside me.
Normally I simply puff and pant my way to the top, but when surrounded by other people, petty pride makes me restrict my breathing. This means I end up feeling more tired and short of breath than I normally would. Silly really. Continue reading
There are plans for a continuous coastal path to link Minehead to Brean Down. Until then, coastal walkers must find their own route. But I don’t anticipate any problems as I walk from Burnham-on-Sea to Brean. My map shows a footpath/cycle track running along the beach. And its a lovely morning for a walk on the sands.
Today I am walking up the east bank of the River Parrett, from Pawlett to the mouth of the estuary at Burnham-on-Sea. I anticipate a flat walk but am apprehensive about the state of the path. This is not a national trail, just an ordinary footpath.
I needn’t have worried. The grass on this side of the river bank is either cropped short or worn into a farmer’s track. Apart from occasional debris caused by winter flooding, the going is easy.
I’m not expecting much from today’s walk: just a slog through industrial estates and along a busy road, until I get to Dunball wharf and a river footpath. Bridgewater is not the prettiest of towns, but any marina looks nice if the sun is shining. 
Continue reading
[Warning: For anybody following after me, the route of this walk is no longer passable. The river bank has been breached to create the Steart Marshes, and walkers would need to make an inland detour to get around the breach.]
Today I am heading down the west bank of the River Parrett to Bridgwater, the first point at which I can cross the river and continue my coastal walk.
But, when my husband drops me off in the car park at Steart Village, and just beside the monument that marks the beginning/end of the West Somerset Coast Path, I see a footpath sign. And I discover I can walk even further along the coast, and maybe get to Stert Point itself.
So off I go. (This is another unexpected eccentricity displayed by the West Somerset Coast Path – it doesn’t actually end where it says it does!) Continue reading
Filled with relief at the prospect of leaving the sinister perimeter defences of Hinkley Point Power Station, and glad to escape from the tracking cameras, I go through a gate, into a field. No cameras. No high fence. Only green grass, marching pylons and – and cows.
Cows. With no udders. Are they heifers? Or bullocks? Uh oh. Here they come… Continue reading
Today I am walking from Kilve to Stert Point, via the Hinkley Point nuclear power station. It is a hazy morning, with intermittent sunshine. I take a photo of a dog walker on Kilve beach, while looking back at the way I came yesterday. The white peaks of Minehead’s Butlins are just visible on the far shore.
I’m staying in Kilve and catch the 8:50am bus to Watchet to resume my walk. I’m the only passenger on the bus (a County Council subsidised route) until we hit the outskirts of the town. It is a wonderful sunny day. I wander down to the harbour and take photographs.
At the bus depot (in front of the train station) I didn’t see any signage for the Somerset Coast Path and the trail is not marked on my current OS map . But last time I was here I noted a path running down the seaward side of the railway line, and this is where I start my walk today. Since it runs along the coast, it must be the coast path. Continue reading
From Dunster Beach I begin walking westwards towards Watchet. I am looking across a wide bay. Below the rocky foreshore are lines of wooden groins, an expanse of mud, and then a stretch of water, with low cliffs on the far side.
My map shows only minor curves along the coast, so the wide bay comes as a surprise. And where is Watchet? It must be hidden around the corner, just beyond where the flat land rises to form a headland. Continue reading
My B&B landlord told me the council say Minehead is a tourist destination, but fail to promote the town. I don’t know if this is true or not, but Minehead has, potentially, much to recommend it as a holiday centre.
There is the Thomas the Tank Engine, for a start.
Continue reading
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Response ID: 328,436,497 Report number: 1222 Location: Ceredigion Coast Path (part of the Wales Coast Path) between Gwbert & Mwnt Date: 04/02/26 2 walkers, no dog, meet about 40 Welsh Black bullocks Pips report: “On the return stretch of our walk we encountered extremely treacherous terrain and a herd of about 40 Welsh Black bullocks […]
Incident number:1220 Response ID: 328,248,081 Location: Back Forest Farm, River Dane, near Wincle & DaneBridge, Peak District ///wasps.promote.homelands Date 26/01/26 Single walker, no dog SY’s Report: “I was heading back to DaneBridge/Wincle from Gradbach/Black Forest. I’d walked by Back Forest Farm along the path between their fields and came to a gate/stile. As I crossed […]
Incident number: 1218 Response ID: 320,795,463 Date of incident: 29.12.2025 Location: Below Denston Hall, Denston Suffolk Status: Lone walker with dog on lead on PROW L.Cooper’s story “I saw a group of cows ahead and waited to see if they would move. As I couldn’t get past without going near to them I backtracked and […]
Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 