Our CLOG Visit to Minehead 2017

Our CLOG Visit to Minehead 2017 was capably organized by Adrian and supported by all. We put a lot of ground under our hiking boots and also savoured the history and other attractions that this interesting part of England has to offer.

Dunkery Beacon, at 519 metres the highest point in the West Country, lies before us as we descend to the interesting village of Wootton Courtenay.

Our hostel was just beneath Minehead's famous Higher Town, which was well worth visiting before breakfast and in the evening. On our first full day we easily (without indecent haste!) "scaled" Dunkery Beacon, which at 519 metres, is the highest point on Exmoor, in Somerset and in the West Country. The picturesque villages of Selworthy, Dunster and Porlock were also on the walking agenda for some of us, as was the famous Dunster Castle (National Trust). An evening cider tasting even awaited us in Porlock! The West Somerset Heritage Railway (WSR) transported us into the age when Steam was king - a sort of time travel. Indeed, some of us made sure that we savoured to the last drop (including the cider in Porlock!) all the delights that this interesting area has to offer. Adrian, what a splendid choice of venue for a late summer CLOG away break! Many Thanks.

We enjoyed our walk to Selworthy Green, where there are about eight of these National Trust thatched cottages, iconic features of the rural West Country.

Although I last visited this area in 2009, it was nice to revisit this part of the world. While I suggested possible walks, three of the "girls" (in this context, I think "girls" sounds better than the more formal "ladies"!) wanted to include particular destinations on our walking agendas, and I was more than happy to oblige. After all, on this, my second visit in eight years to Minehead, I learnt and saw many new things. I was of course happy to lead the walks on all three full days. I detail these walks in these pages together with those activities I did solo on the two successive days.

The Rugged Path gave us the sense of the Great Outdoors.
Sea and Sky and a narrow path high above the shore.
Some experienced this on our Selworthy Day. Others, including me, kept this treat for later.

It is in the nature of CLOG away breaks that there are a number of parallel activities. So, on our away break, there were two walks, similar in some ways to my walks with the "girls" on the first two days; however, these "similar" walks were geared to those who are not too interested in the historical and cultural aspects of the landscape through which a walk is conducted. On the last day, there was also a visit (led by John (C.)) for some of our party by bus to Lynmouth. An in-house DIY communal dinner (thanks to the cooks - Adrian et al.) rounded off our second day, and a group visit to a restaurant in Minehead was a nice finale to our away break.

Cultured living of yesteryear was on show when we visited Dunster Castle.

So here's what you will see in these pages. The numbers are the dates in August. Happy Browsing!

25. We Arrive.
26. We espouse the Higher Ground - Dunkery Beacon (519 m).
27. Selworthy via Bossington Hill and the Acland Memorial.
28. We walk to Dunster, see its mediaeval village and its famous castle, and return along the coast.
29. West Somerset Railway, including Bishops Lydeard and the old Port of Watchet.
30. St Michael and its Belfry, The Rugged Path, Bossington Hill and Selworthy.

• Thank You All for a Fine CLOG Away Break!
• Features of Our Walks
• More Activities - Parallel Activities
• You might also wish to see what we did in Minehead in 2009
• Please Read Me - Thank you!

Many Thanks to All

Thank you to Adrian for so capably and diligently organizing our end-of-summer CLOG away trip. This trip was a splendid amalgam of exercise, fine scenery, history, art and culture. Thank you to all for your support for this successful event. An especial thank you (in strict alphabetic order, let it be said!) to Jan, Julie and Melissa, who accompanied me and supported me on all three of my walks; thank you "girls" for your company, your walk suggestions and your knowledge of history! Thank you to the Weather Gods for doing your bit - we had excellent weather throughout our three full days together.