Wednesday 24 April 2019

South West Coast Path: Day 1 - Minehead to Porlock.

We woke up to bright sunshine to begin our 5th long distance walk. This time the six of us are in the South West of the country and are walking the coastal path from Minehead in Somerset to Westward Ho! in Devon. The SWCP is the longest of Britain's national trails measuring 630 miles (1014km). We are only walking a small section of the path and expect to walk about 80 miles.

We left our luggage at the hotel as once again we are using a luggage transfer company and will have our luggage transported each day to our next accomodation. We have also left our cars here for the week in the hope they won't be towed away in our absence. We thought we could pay for parking before we left but that wasn't possible and no member of staff really knew what the procedure was for non-residents leaving a car and not returning for seven days. Paul managed to be reassured by Luke, the receptionist, that he had put something on the system so we wouldn't end up carless or with a massive parking fine.

At the beginning of the trail is a monument of a pair of gigantic hands holding a map. This was the place for our first group photo.































This was my first visit to Minehead and I was very impressed. It wasn't as I had expected as it had a lovely sandy beach with hills rising above the thatched cottages.







We opted to have our breakfast at a cafe overlooking the small harbour.






Tina took this great photo from inside the cafe. After a freshly cooked English breakfast we were ready to leave Minehead and begin the walk.



On the way out we passed the lifeboat station.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has operated from this boathouse for over 100 years. It has two  inshore lifeboats. The lifeboats are manned by trained volunteers who provide a 24/7 service.




The path is clearly marked with the acorn sign.









We were finally on our way with a steep climb up onto the hills.
It wasn't long before the path took us away from the coast up  a wooded slope. Fortunately the path zig-zagged its way upwards, making the ascent easier.







The view of the sea was never far away.


As always, we have Steve with the guide book, Paul with the OS map and Tim with a GPS. I was of the opinion that if the sea was on my right then I was OK!


The stunning views made the steep walk up worthwhile.





We also had views inland of Exmoor and the Exmoor ponies.


Exmoor ponies roam freely on the moor. All the ponies belong to someone with the National Park owning two herds. The foals are born in the Spring and early Summer. In the Autumn the herds are driven down to the farms. The foals are weaned and all ponies are inspected and micro-chipped before being returned to the moor for the Winter.








Sheep and cattle also graze on the grassy slopes.







Going up does mean that we then have to go down.
So we began our steep descent on the other side of the hill into the small village of Bossington.
















The village is mostly owned by the National Trust which maintains the cottages




We had a short break here but were disappointed that the tea shop was closed, so no cream teas for us here.

We followed a road out of the village down to the beach, hoping to walk along to the next village where we were spending the night. It was a pebbly beach and not comfortable for walking across so we retraced our steps and followed a track into the village of Porlock.



The village is off the route of the coastal path but it was the nearest village to find accommodation.








We stayed here at the Overstream Guest house. The owners Maggie and Nick welcomed us with tea and homemade cake. It was a beautiful guest house with large ensuite rooms. Tina and I had a great view of the village from our room with the sea in the background.
 It had been an easy walk of 10 miles today with only the one main hill to climb so Tina and I decided we still had plenty of energy to wander around the town.










Lots of thatched cottages and you could see the mark of the thatcher on the top of this one.




All thatchers leave their mark on the roof.





A George VI Letter Box. George VI became King in 1936 when his brother abdicated and reigned for 16 years.











This cottage was built in 1604




 On the chimney are two marks. I think they are fire insurance marks.  One shows a phoenix rising from the flames with the word protection underneath.The other one has the word Royal with a phoenix  below.

The marks identified that the property was covered by fire insurance and were attached to the building so they could be be easily seen but out of reach of thieves. The marks were brought in from the late 1600s and each company had their own mark.



Just off the High Street is the old tannery. It ceased trading in the 11930s and became a riding school until the outbreak of the second world war when it was used as a barracks. They have now been converted into residential workspace.



Across from where we were staying is the 12th century church of St Dubricus. Inside was this ancient clock.






There were also the canopied effigies of Lord Harrington (c1384-1418) and his wife Elizabeth (died 1471).




Porlock is a delightful village and we were pleased we had the time  to wander around. This is a photo of the Museum which was closed but we were able to access the community garden behind and enjoyed sitting there, with views over Exmoor and out to sea, before returning to the guesthouse to meet up with the others for dinner.

15 comments:

  1. I think those marks on homes were to identify houses in the time when insurance companies had their own fire brigades to fight fires at their insured properties. Maybe I have the completely wrong.

    The walk is sounding terrific and what great places you have seen already. As you would guess, I find the clock interesting, only striking the hours and without a face.

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  2. What a nice full day was that, even energy left to explore the city after the walk!

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  3. Hello, what a fantastic walk. The village and views of the coast are beautiful. I like the sculptures left on the thatched roofs. Beautiful photos and post. Wishing you a happy day!

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  4. What a great start to your walk. I loved your comment about if the sea was on your right you were ok lol. As long as it wasn't getting too far away!

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  5. I enjoyed all your wonderful pictures of your first day. The weather looks like it might be cooperating with you for a change! Happy trails to you and your companions. I look forward to the next day's adventures. :-)

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  6. What a wonderful start. How did you order such beautiful weather? Interesting that the ponies get chips I guess to establish ownership? Are they ever tamed for riding?

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  7. You lost me at the uphill part but the views made it worth the effort. So much history and to walk among and beside it is so special. I'm enjoying your walk and I am not a bit tired:)

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  8. The views of the countryside are gorgeous. Well worth the hike!

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  9. Very nice walk. Minehead was my first holiday as a lad with my friends, we stayed At Butliz (lest that was we called it) holiday camp. Next time was when I stayed at a B&B on the outskirts of the place. Never been to Porlock though I have driven my Mini up and down the hill. I loved driving down it fast though I might add that was back in the 1970's when the traffic was lighter. I stayed at Heartland and Heartland point as well. That church was wonderful thanks for showing it

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  10. Cool. And you had blue skies. What a plus.

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  11. A walk with views of the sea like this would be my first choice! Plenty to enjoy on your first day.

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  12. What beautiful countryside and a lovely village.

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  13. Thanks so much for taking us along on your walk! I love the old stone building and lovely scenery. what a great place to visit :)

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  14. I am happy that you had time to wander around too. I am not sure I would after a ten mile walk,

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  15. A great start on another beUtiful walkabout. It’s wonderful to have those well-marked trails through such beautiful countryside and Great to have your luggage transported and good food and comfy bed at the end of each day. ..even with all that though , it still boggles my mind that you have energy left after a ten mile walk.

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