West Somerset Coast Path
Encyclopedia
The West Somerset Coast Path is a long-distance footpath that links the northern end of the South West Coast Path
to the River Parrett Trail
.
It runs from the hamlet of Steart on the Steart Peninsula
, and passes through the villages of Kilve
, West Quantoxhead
, Williton
, Watchet
, Blue Anchor
, and Dunster
beach to Minehead
.
The beach at Kilve was described by William Wordsworth
, the Romantic
poet, as "Kilve's delightful shore". Kilve Pill, where the stream from Holford
runs into the sea, was once a tiny port, used for importing culm, an inferior type of coal which was used in the limeburning process. It was also the site for "glatting" which was the hunting of conger eels by dogs. On the shore a Saint Keyne
serpent can be seen, which a local legend says is a snake turned to stone, but is in reality an ammonite
. It is just possible to make out the remains of a stone jetty and the ruins of a lime kiln nearby. Here the limestone was burnt to provide farmers with the lime to spread on their fields. The limestone carrier Laurina was wrecked at Kilve in 1876.
From Williton to Minehead the route is close to the track of the West Somerset Railway
which opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the significant number of tourists that wished to travel to the Somerset coast. Despite this traffic it was closed in 1971 but was then reopened in 1976 as a heritage railway
.
Watchet is a harbour town, which, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
, was plundered by Danes led by Ohtor and Rhoald in 987 and 997. It is known that it was in frequent use by small boats in 1564 possibly for the import of salt and wine from France
. During the English Civil War
Royalist
reinforcements for the siege of Dunster Castle
was sent by sea, but the tide was on the ebb and a troop of Roundheads rode into the shallows and forced the ship to surrender, so a ship at sea was taken by a troop of horse. The primitive jetty was damaged in a storm of 1659 and a larger, stronger pier was built in the early 18th century supported by local wool merchants, although by 1797 the largest export was kelp
made by burning seaweed for use in glass making. In the 19th century trade increased with the export of iron ore from the Brendon Hills
, paper, flour and gypsum. Harbour trade was aided by the coming of the railway. In the mid-1860s two independent railways terminated at Watchet. The West Somerset Mineral Railway
ran down from the iron mines on the Brendon Hills, and the West Somerset Railway
came up from the Bristol & Exeter Railway at Norton Fitzwarren
. Both lines made extensive use of the harbour at Watchet from where iron ore was shipped across the Bristol Channel for smelting at Ebbw Vale
in South Wales
.
The foreshore at Watchet is rocky, with a high 6 metres (19.7 ft) tidal range
. The cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor
show a distinct pale, greenish blue colour, resulting from the coloured alabaster
found there. The name "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote this colour. Daw's Castle
, about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) west of Watchet, is a hill fort
situated on a sea cliff about 80 metres (262.5 ft) above the sea. The fort may be of Iron Age
origin, but was (re)built and fortified as a burh
by King Alfred, as part of his defence against Viking
raids from the Bristol Channel
around 878 AD
.
The Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI
is a 742.8 hectare
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It provides an outstanding series of sections through the Early Jurassic
Lower Lias, spanning the Hettangian
and Pliensbachian
Stages and named the "Lilstock Formation". This sequence and the good Rhaetian
succession beneath are repeatedly affected by faulting, making it of interest to geologists and fossil
hunters. It also displays coastal geomorphology which demonstrates a particularly well-developed series of intertidal shore platforms varying in width from about 200-600m. The cliff and beach are rich in reptile
remains, including complete skeletons. Lilstock also yields ammonites, shells and fish remains. A unique specimen of an ichthyosaur
, named Excalibosaurus costini MacGowan, in which the lower jaw is shorter than the upper was found in the Lower Jurassic Sinemurian Stage
, Lower Lias beds on the foreshore at Lilstock and is now in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
. The Triassic
cliffs have geological interest for the variety of fossils. The coloured alabaster found in the cliffs gave rise to the name of the colour "Watchet Blue".
Dunster Beach, which includes the mouth of the River Avill
, is located half a mile from the village, and used to have a significant harbour, known as Dunster Haven, which was used for the export of wool from Saxon
times; however, it was last used in the 17th century and has now disappeared among the dykes, meadows and marshes near the shore. The beach site has a number of privately owned beach huts (or chalets as some owners call them) along with a small shop, a tennis court and a putting green. The chalets, measuring 18 by, can be let out for holidays; some owners live in them all the year round.
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
to the River Parrett Trail
River Parrett Trail
The River Parrett Trail is a long-distance footpath, following the route of the River Parrett in Somerset, England. The trail, which is long, runs from Chedington in Dorset to the mouth of the river in Bridgwater Bay where it joins the West Somerset Coast Path....
.
It runs from the hamlet of Steart on the Steart Peninsula
Steart Peninsula
The Steart Peninsula is a peninsula in Somerset, England. At its outermost tip is Fenning Island, at the tip of which is Steart Point. It consists largely of low-lying flat farmland, and projects northwards on the west side of Stockland Reach, the lower stretches of the estuary of the River...
, and passes through the villages of Kilve
Kilve
Kilve is a village in West Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957....
, West Quantoxhead
West Quantoxhead
West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, from East Quantoxhead, from Williton and equidistant from Bridgwater and Taunton...
, Williton
Williton
Williton is a medium-sized village and civil parish in West Somerset, England. It has many of the facilities of a small town, being the administrative centre for the district. Williton is situated at the junction of the A39, A358 and B3191 roads...
, Watchet
Watchet
Watchet is a harbour town and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish...
, Blue Anchor
Blue Anchor
Blue Anchor is a seaside village, in the parish of Old Cleeve, close to Carhampton in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The village takes its name from a 17th century inn....
, and Dunster
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parish in west Somerset, England, situated on the Bristol Channel coast south-southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. The village has a population of 862 .The village has numerous restaurants and three pubs...
beach to Minehead
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
.
The beach at Kilve was described by William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
poet, as "Kilve's delightful shore". Kilve Pill, where the stream from Holford
Holford
Holford is a village and civil parish in West Somerset within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and about west of Bridgwater and east of Williton. The village has a population of about 200. The village is on the Quantock Greenway and Coleridge Way footpaths...
runs into the sea, was once a tiny port, used for importing culm, an inferior type of coal which was used in the limeburning process. It was also the site for "glatting" which was the hunting of conger eels by dogs. On the shore a Saint Keyne
Saint Keyne
Saint Keyne or Cain was a late 5th century holy woman in the West Country, between Liskeard and Looe in SE Cornwall. She is not mentioned as being a saint in the official Catholic encyclopaedia - newadvent.org, so perhaps it's disputable if she is indeed a Catholic saint...
serpent can be seen, which a local legend says is a snake turned to stone, but is in reality an ammonite
Ammonite
Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct subclass within the Molluscan class Cephalopoda which are more closely related to living coleoids Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct...
. It is just possible to make out the remains of a stone jetty and the ruins of a lime kiln nearby. Here the limestone was burnt to provide farmers with the lime to spread on their fields. The limestone carrier Laurina was wrecked at Kilve in 1876.
From Williton to Minehead the route is close to the track of the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
which opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the significant number of tourists that wished to travel to the Somerset coast. Despite this traffic it was closed in 1971 but was then reopened in 1976 as a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
.
Watchet is a harbour town, which, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, was plundered by Danes led by Ohtor and Rhoald in 987 and 997. It is known that it was in frequent use by small boats in 1564 possibly for the import of salt and wine from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
reinforcements for the siege of Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century,...
was sent by sea, but the tide was on the ebb and a troop of Roundheads rode into the shallows and forced the ship to surrender, so a ship at sea was taken by a troop of horse. The primitive jetty was damaged in a storm of 1659 and a larger, stronger pier was built in the early 18th century supported by local wool merchants, although by 1797 the largest export was kelp
Kelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
made by burning seaweed for use in glass making. In the 19th century trade increased with the export of iron ore from the Brendon Hills
Brendon Hills
The Brendon Hills are composed of a lofty ridge of hills in the East Lyn Valley area of western Somerset, England. The terrain is broken by a series of deeply incised streams and rivers running roughly southwards to meet the River Haddeo, a tributary of the River Exe.The hills are quite heavily...
, paper, flour and gypsum. Harbour trade was aided by the coming of the railway. In the mid-1860s two independent railways terminated at Watchet. The West Somerset Mineral Railway
West Somerset Mineral Railway
The West Somerset Mineral Railway was a line which operated in the UK county of Somerset. It ran from the ironstone mines in the Brendon Hills to the port of Watchet on the Bristol Channel. From there the ore was carried across by ship to Newport and thence to Ebbw Vale for smelting to extract...
ran down from the iron mines on the Brendon Hills, and the West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
came up from the Bristol & Exeter Railway at Norton Fitzwarren
Norton Fitzwarren
Norton Fitzwarren is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 2,325.-History:...
. Both lines made extensive use of the harbour at Watchet from where iron ore was shipped across the Bristol Channel for smelting at Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
The foreshore at Watchet is rocky, with a high 6 metres (19.7 ft) tidal range
Tidal range
The tidal range is the vertical difference between the high tide and the succeeding low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth...
. The cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor
Blue Anchor
Blue Anchor is a seaside village, in the parish of Old Cleeve, close to Carhampton in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The village takes its name from a 17th century inn....
show a distinct pale, greenish blue colour, resulting from the coloured alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
found there. The name "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote this colour. Daw's Castle
Daw's Castle
Daw's Castle is a sea cliff hill fort just west of Watchet, a harbour town in Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.The name comes from Thomas Dawe, who owned castell field in 1537....
, about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) west of Watchet, is a hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
situated on a sea cliff about 80 metres (262.5 ft) above the sea. The fort may be of Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
origin, but was (re)built and fortified as a burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
by King Alfred, as part of his defence against Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raids from the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
around 878 AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
.
The Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI
Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI
Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI is a 742.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Blue Anchor and Lilstock in Somerset, notified in 1971....
is a 742.8 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It provides an outstanding series of sections through the Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...
Lower Lias, spanning the Hettangian
Hettangian
The Hettangian is the earliest age or lowest stage of the Jurassic period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 199.6 ± 0.6 Ma and 196.5 ± 1 Ma . The Hettangian follows the Rhaetian and is followed by the Sinemurian.In Europe stratigraphy the Hettangian is a part of the time span in...
and Pliensbachian
Pliensbachian
The Pliensbachian is an age of the geologic timescale or stage in the stratigraphic column. It is part of the Early or Lower Jurassic epoch or series and spans the time between 189.6 ± 1.5 Ma and 183 ± 1.5 Ma . The Pliensbachian is preceded by the Sinemurian and followed by the Toarcian.The...
Stages and named the "Lilstock Formation". This sequence and the good Rhaetian
Rhaetian
The Rhaetian is in geochronology the latest age of the Triassic period or in chronostratigraphy the uppermost stage of the Triassic system. It lasted from 203.6 ± 1.5 to 199.6 ± 0.6 million years ago...
succession beneath are repeatedly affected by faulting, making it of interest to geologists and fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
hunters. It also displays coastal geomorphology which demonstrates a particularly well-developed series of intertidal shore platforms varying in width from about 200-600m. The cliff and beach are rich in reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
remains, including complete skeletons. Lilstock also yields ammonites, shells and fish remains. A unique specimen of an ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
, named Excalibosaurus costini MacGowan, in which the lower jaw is shorter than the upper was found in the Lower Jurassic Sinemurian Stage
Sinemurian
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age or stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 196.5 ± 2 Ma and 189.6 ± 1.5 Ma...
, Lower Lias beds on the foreshore at Lilstock and is now in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
The Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. It is run by the city council with no entrance fee. It holds designated museum status, granted by the national government to protect outstanding museums...
. The Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
cliffs have geological interest for the variety of fossils. The coloured alabaster found in the cliffs gave rise to the name of the colour "Watchet Blue".
Dunster Beach, which includes the mouth of the River Avill
River Avill
The River Avill is a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England.It rises on the eastern slopes of Dunkery Beacon and flows north through Timberscombe and Dunster flowing into the Bristol Channel at Dunster Beach....
, is located half a mile from the village, and used to have a significant harbour, known as Dunster Haven, which was used for the export of wool from Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times; however, it was last used in the 17th century and has now disappeared among the dykes, meadows and marshes near the shore. The beach site has a number of privately owned beach huts (or chalets as some owners call them) along with a small shop, a tennis court and a putting green. The chalets, measuring 18 by, can be let out for holidays; some owners live in them all the year round.
Route and points of interest
External links
- West Somerset Coast Path directions at Somerset County Council