Watchet and Splash Point on the Somerset Coast.

Watchet on the Somerset Coast is one of my favourite places to visit.  It is not only an interesting, tranquil little harbour town, but the journey to it along the A358 through the gently rolling foothills of the Quantocks is a pleasure in itself.

I visited Watchet on 16 June, a very hot day, with the primary intention of walking up to Splash Point on the eastern side of the town to see if I could spot the tower of St. Decuman’s Church on the hill to the west.  The easier of the footpaths to Splash Point initially follows alongside the West Somerset Railway line and then passes behind the East Quay complex.

In my eyes, East Quay just about qualifies as a blot on the landscape.  It is garish and angular with what looks like a couple of bright blue shipping containers plonked between it and the marina.  The building’s odd geometrical design does mitigate its ugliness, but only slightly.  I did not linger!

East Quay at Watchet Harbour on the Somerset Coast.

I continued on along the footpath and up the steep steps to Splash Point where I found views east and west, and out over the Bristol Channel – well worth the effort of climbing those steps!  However, I was not rewarded with a view of St. Decuman’s.  The area around Splash Point was known to the Victorians as The Pleasure Ground – it once had a tea room for their refreshment. 

A view of Watchet looking across the marina and tidal harbour from Splash Point.

Unsurprisingly for such a vantage point, I came upon the remains of a World War Two bunker and coastal artillery emplacements.  No doubt they were ideally situated to defend Watchet Harbour and the approaches to the Cardiff, Newport and Avonmouth docks.

The World War Two bunker on Splash Point above Watchet Harbour in Somerset.  The footpath and steps down to the Eastern Pier, from where this photo was taken, are on the right.

From beside the WW2 bunker I walked down another set of steep steps to the Eastern Pier and proceeded on a gentle stroll around the marina, the Esplanade and the tidal harbour wall.  I was surprised at how few people were around considering it was such a fine day.

Pleasing shot of an old lifeboat in the marina at Watchet on the Somerset Coast.

The fossil beach below Splash Point at Watchet on the Somerset Coast.  The photo was taken from the Eastern Pier.  The forest of cranes at the Hinkley Point nuclear power station construction site can just be seen on the horizon to the right of picture.

After an interesting visit lasting two hours, at a very reasonable cost of £2.20 to park the car, I left Watchet at 1630. Heading home I took the B3191 to Williton, then the A358.  Both roads were very quiet so I had another chance to relax a little and enjoy the scenery.

The war memorial in Watchet on the Somerset Coast.

 I visited the Somerset coastal town of Watchet back in the spring of 2018 and, while strolling around the harbour and esplanade, my wife and I came across a rather unique war memorial.  It stands by the wall of the public library, a building which was the town's lifeboat station until 1944.  The stone memorial is new and in the form of a structure representing sand bags.  It was unveiled on 28 June 2014. 

Originally Watchet had remembered its fallen by creating a recreation ground named the Memorial Ground.  It consisted of a sports pavilion and stand which was opened in July 1929.

The distinctive new memorial commemorates 42 men who were killed in World War One and 16 in World War Two. 

The war memorial in the Somerset coastal town of Watchet.

 

A view of the Somerset Coast looking west from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head.

I took these photos from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head on an April day in 2016.  I parked at the Kilve Beach pay and display car park and followed the England Coast Path to the west.  

A view toward Minehead from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head in Somerset.

The view toward Watchet from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head in Somerset.

I remember the day well as the weather was changeable to put it mildly!  Sunshine, rain, hail, sleet and snow came blowing in from the Bristol Channel, and I mean blowing - at Quantock's Head I could hardly stand up.  Be that as it may, I enjoyed my walk, and the scenery.  

A view of the Somerset Coast on the Severn Estuary from Poets Walk at Wain's Hill, Clevedon.

Another view from the archives, this time of the Somerset Coast of the Severn Estuary  taken from Poets Walk on Wain’s Hill in Clevedon.  Looking south west along the coast Middle Hope and Sand Point are visible with Steep Holm in sight out in the Bristol Channel.

On the top of Wain’s Hill, just above the position where I took the photos, is a Second World War pill-box/bunker which was ideally placed to observe the comings and goings in the Severn Estuary.

Just to the south of the hill are the mud flats where the two rivers known as the Blind Yeo and the Land Yeo flow into the estuary.  The photos were taken on the 22 September 2011 as the horizon was becoming a little hazy.

The view to the south west along the Somerset Coast from Wain's Hill, Clevedon.  Steep Holm is just visible in the haze.  Middle Hope and Sand Point are in the middle of the horizon.

The view from Poets Walk, Wain's Hill on the Somerset Coast at Clevedon.  The Blind Yeo and the Land Yeo join the Severn Estuary at this point.

Severn Estuary mud!

The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack on The Esplanade overlooking Watchet Marina on the Somerset Coast.

It was a pleasant April day – pleasant days have been a rarity so far this year – so my wife and I decided on an afternoon drive up the A358 toward Watchet on the coast of Somerset.  The road was not very busy at all so it was an enjoyable saunter to Williton viewing the Quantock Hills to our right and the Brendon Hills to our left.

In Watchet we left the car in the spacious car park off Market Street and headed, in welcome sunshine, for The Esplanade.  The splendid life size statues of The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack, both by Scottish sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot, are in proportion to their surroundings and are an asset to the area overlooking The Marina.  Another pleasing sculpture was Watchet’s war memorial, next to the Library, which has a cross and inscription panel supported by a pier of sandbags – an unusual, but somehow fitting design.  After enjoying the view from The Esplanade we spent some time in the small, but extremely informative and well-presented Museum before heading out along the harbour wall to the lighthouse.

By the time we reached the lighthouse it was beginning to get a little chilly so as we headed back to the car we decided to search for something to eat.  On turning into Swain Street from Market Street we found Sam’s Deli, and a couple of warm sausage rolls served by a friendly and obliging young woman and man.

After a very agreeable afternoon in Watchet we headed on along the B3191 to Blue Anchor to re-join the A39 for Williton, then home to South Somerset.  

 

The statue of The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade overlooking the Marina and Harbour at Watchet on the coast of Somerset. 

The Ancient Mariner.

The words on the plaque at the base of the Statue tell the tale.

“This statue was commissioned in 2002 by the Watchet Market House Museum Society.  It was sculpted by Alan B. Herriot of Penicuik, Scotland and erected in 2003 as a tribute to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

This renowned poet resided for some years at the nearby village of Nether Stowey.  In 1797, whilst on a walking tour, Coleridge visited Watchet.  On seeing the harbour he was inspired to compose one of the best known poems in English literature, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.”

The statue of John Short ("Yankee Jack") on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

Yankee Jack.

An information board on The Esplanade tells the story of the life of Yankee Jack.  Here are a few paragraphs from that story.

“JOHN SHORT (“YANKEE JACK”), 1839-1933”

"The adjacent statue was erected as a tribute to John Short, Watchet’s famous shantyman.  For over 40 years as able seaman and later as bos’un he sailed the world in a great variety of sailing ships.  In the 1860s some of John’s ships ran the blockade in the American Civil War and because of this he was affectionately awarded the nickname of “Yankee Jack” by Watchet townsfolk.

It was a tradition aboard large sailing ships for sailors to sing sea shanties.  This assisted them to work together when hoisting sails or walking around the capstan etc.  John Short’s strong and tuneful voice often led him to take the role of solo shantyman, and over the years he memorised the words and tunes of dozens of shanties, including the well-known Rio Grande, Shenandoah, Blow the Man Down, A Roving and Spanish Ladies. 

In 1902 he was appointed as Watchet’s Town Crier and later took charge of the town’s fire brigade.  He continued to sing with other sailors around the harbourside and occasionally at local concerts.

In 1914, at the age of 75, he was introduced by the Reverend Dr. Allen Brockington, of nearby Carhampton, to Cecil Sharp, an eminent collector of folk songs and shanties.  Sharp was very impressed with the old sailor’s singing and declared that “John Short’s rich, powerful, yet flexible voice would excite the envy of many a professional vocalist”.   

Later Sir Richard Terry, another distinguished collector, visited John to gather and publish yet more shanties from his repertoire.  Had these two renowned gentlemen not met “Yankee Jack” many delightful old songs of the sailors could have been lost for ever."

Staple Hill, the highest point on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

Staple Hill in Somerset is, at 1,033 feet, the highest point on the Blackdown Hills.  It is also the site of a Forestry Commission Plantation through which passes the Staple Fitzpaine herepath, a part of the Anglo-Saxon military road network initiated in the ninth century.

The Forestry Commission has provided a spacious car park, footpaths and seating which allows visitors to enjoy some impressive views across Somerset.

There are fine views over the Vale of Taunton Deane to the Quantock Hills and, on a clear day, one can see north over Bridgwater Bay to Brean Down, Weston-super-Mare and Kewstoke with the Welsh coast and mountains visible on the far side of the Bristol Channel.

The view north from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.  At the top of the picture the Welsh coast, 45 miles distant, can be seen through the gap between Brean Down and Kewstoke.

The views to the north-east, along the foothills of the Blackdowns, encompass the Somerset Levels with Glastonbury Tor, Burrow Mump and the Burton Pynsent Monument clearly visible.  The low ridge of the Polden Hills can be seen and the Mendip Hills are on the horizon.  A pair of binoculars and a good map add to the pleasure of spotting these and other landmarks. 

Looking north-east from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills.  Spot the Burton Pynsent Monument near Curry Rivel. 

The view to the north-east from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills across the Somerset Levels to the Mendips. 

Brent Knoll in Somerset. A conspicuous landmark rising above the Levels.

Brent Knoll rises 450 feet above the Somerset Levels only 2.5 miles from the coast at Burnham-on-Sea.  An outlier of the Mendip Hills, it is a well-known landmark to the millions of travellers who use the M5, A38 and A370 as well as rail passengers on the Bristol to Taunton and Penzance line.  All those routes pass within one mile of the foot of the Knoll. 

On a recent journey up the A38 to Churchill my wife noticed the effect of heavy rainfall, deposited by storm Angus, on the fields north east of Brent Knoll.  Approaching the village of Cross she saw the waterlogged fields had taken on the appearance of a lake. 

I was reminded of a photograph I took in 2012 when a spell of heavy rain - storms weren’t given names in those days - had flooded those same fields in similar fashion.  The photo was taken from a lay-by, on the slopes of Shute Shelve Hill, on the A371 just a few hundred yards east of the junction with the A38.

Brent Knoll viewed from the slopes of Shute Shelve Hill after a spell of heavy rain in the spring of 2012.  The Quantock Hills are on the horizon.

Little wonder that the Romans knew Brent Knoll as “The Mount of Frogs”, as it stood surrounded by water and marshes before the Somerset Levels were drained, a process undertaken in earnest by the monasteries of Glastonbury, Athelney and Muchelney during the Middle Ages.

Burrington Combe and Burrington Ham on the Mendip Hills in Somerset.

Burrington Combe on the Mendip Hills in Somerset where, according to legend, Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778) the curate of nearby Blagdon was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering in a cleft in the rock face during a storm. A plaque opposite the car park at the bottom of the Combe marks the very rock. 


Feral Goats on patrol in Burrington Combe.

Feral goats were introduced to the Combe some years ago to keep the scrub under control in order to promote the growth of wild flowers and plants.  They are doing a similar job in Cheddar Gorge and on Brean Down.

At the top of the Combe there is another car park from which you can walk up a track to Burrington Ham. Follow the path to the west and enjoy the views north east towards the Chew Valley and north west across Wrington Vale to Clevedon, the Severn Estuary and South Wales. To the south you look up towards Blackdown and Beacon Batch, the highest point on the Mendips.

View from Burrington Ham across Wrington Vale to the Severn Estuary and South Wales. 



Wrington Vale and fields of oilseed rape, a crop barely known in England until the 1970s. It seems a bit un-English to me but the crop's yellow flowers certainly brightened up this scene on what was a dull April day.