Washford to Watchet via the Old Mineral Line and Contains Art

It’s  Easter 2023 and finally we have a few consequently sunny days.   It’s too good to waste.  I’m signed up for an End To End  Artic Virtual Walking Challenge to the North Pole and it’s been slow going so far!  It’s time to step up before the weather changes again.

We started from the village of Washford, they kindly allow walkers to park in the village hall car park when spaces permit, for a small donation.   It’s a pretty little village, and I’d never really seen it off the main road before I discovered this walk.  Coming out of the car park you walk a short distance to the left, as far as the school, and then the path goes off to the right.  It is signposted.

As can be seen on the On The Go Map, it’s a fairly straight route.  I measured 4.71 miles as a return journey.

Because it’s an old disused railway line, it’s also fairly flat, making it a popular cycling route too.

There were definite signs of Spring.

It runs along side the West Somerset Railway for some distance.

Ne’er cast a clout til the May be out.

The May is certainly out and we had to peel off a layer of clouts 😊

Celandines line much of the path, although no primroses.

Tree tunnels add some shade to the walk.

On the other side of the path, the River Washford can occasionally be spotted as it runs down the sea.

The WSR crosses over here to Watchet Station.  From here there are several ways to wander down to the town and the harbour.  We like to take the path away from the road, which brings you out almost opposite the entrance to the harbour arm, or continue right to the marina.

A clear sign of Watchet’s past, more can be seen at the Museum.

The Ancient Mariner

A fictional character from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The following quote is painted around the harbour wall.

‘The fair breeze blew,

The white foam flew,

The furrow followed free’

Yankee Jack, so called for his service during the blockade in the American Civil War.  

He was also known for his love Sea Shanties.

The new centre on the East Quay, aptly named Contains Art, echoes Watchet’s past as a container port.

It’s something of a marmite construction, but it’s run by a charitable organisation and is free to enter.  I have to admit I haven’t appreciated all of the gallery exhibitions, they simply don’t make sense to me in Watchet, but it has several small businesses, a kitchen cafe, and toilets!  It shouldn’t be missed.

We discovered this time that you can access a viewing platform on top of Contains Art, and the views of the town are spectacular.  The town shouldn’t be ignored, it has many individual shops, antique centres and every day supermarkets as well as a host of pubs and cafes.  We are particularly fond of the charity book shop on the harbour by the Yankee Jack Statue.

A view over the Marina stretching as far as Wales.  

And last but not least, my bunch of daffodils, free from Morrisons with my last shop, have opened and are filling my lounge with their perfume.  Another little bit of mindfulness 😊