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
I am walking along Culver Cliff, through woodland, towards Minehead. Nearly there. And that means I am nearly at the end of the South West Coast Path.
As I follow the path, sloping downwards towards the outskirts of the town, I am overcome with a very strong feeling. An orange line crosses my map at about this point. That means I am crossing over a boundary, moving out of Devon and into Somerset. Out of the domain of pixies and pirates and into the world of scrumpy and Glastonbury. I feel the division as though it is a physical barrier, an invisible wall that I am about to walk through. Continue reading
Beyond the old lookout tower of Hurlstone Point the footpath continues. This not the official South West Coast Path but, according to my map, the track should loop around the headland and re-join the SWCP on the other side of the peak.
The path is narrow – a ledge really – above a steep drop to the sea. There is a warning sign – Walkers are Advised to Take Precautions when Using Path in Adverse Weather Conditions. What type of precautions? What does that mean, exactly? Luckily the weather this afternoon is fine.
Setting off from Porlock Weir, the first section of the South West Coast Path runs along Porlock beach for a few hundred yards.
I wouldn’t really call this a beach. Shingle! It’s my least-favourite walking surface, after mud. But the path seems well-defined and I certainly don’t want to walk along the road.
The South West Coast Path splits into two and I take the lower route, staying among the trees and closer to where I know the sea must be, somewhere on my left. But inside the wood my horizon is limited by trees and ferns. No landmarks to guide me.
It is still raining. Once there were dry patches under the trees, now everything is soaking. Puddles fill the hollows in the path. Water oozes out of the soil.
I feel totally alone. I’ve not seen a human being for 3 hours. Even my companion flies seem to have disappeared.
I come to a pretty waterfall, one of the many that brings streams flowing across the path. And I find an almost-dry branch, wedged between two rocks, a piece of debris carried down by the water during the 2013 winter storms, I imagine.
Somewhere to sit. At last. Continue reading
I stay the night in Porlock Weir. Hubby has gone home and I find it is surprisingly difficult to get from Porlock to Lynmouth by public transport. Only 3 buses a day cross this stretch of Exmoor.
It begins raining as I wait for the exceedingly-rare no. 300 bus. Exmoor is grey, watery and bleak. The bus makes only three stops on the way over the moors. But the sun is shining by the time we reach Lynmouth. Hoorah!
I take plenty of photos. Lynmouth must be even prettier when the tide comes in. Continue reading
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Incident No: 1319Date: 14.08.26Site: 51.6221725, -2.5476959 Near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire1 cow, 1 walker, no dogDescription: “I was going to walk across the field, it was open with no warning signs. A cow was staring at me, I didn’t think much about it and just kept my distance. It took a few steps towards me so […]
ncident No: 1318Date: 13.10.26Site: Timberscombe Common, Timberscombe near Minehead, Somerset1 horse, 1 pony and rider. Group of cows. Sophie’s Report : “I was hacking my horse back along the bridleway across the centre of the common towards the village, when the cows saw me and charged at me. My horse and the pony I was […]
Report Number: 1315Date: 29/09/26Location: South Mundham at the bottom of Fisher Lane, West SussexGroup of black and white cattle, single walker with dog on lead Alice’s Report: “As I was walking on the path towards the exit of the field the cows were a fair distance from me. I have walked this route many times […]
