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 - MINEHEAD, Somerset . Hidden within this resort of much gabled Victoriana and 20th-cent. Tudor and sands so broad at low tide that the sea seems to disappear, is an exquisite village. It is on the face of the hill at the town’s western end. A wide flight of tiled and cobbled steps leads up between red-stone or yellow-coloured cottages, which are mainly thatched with tall chimneys, to the big 14th- to 15th-cent. church. This contains much of interest, including an excellent screen (c. 1500), figured font (15th-cent.), early-l7th-cent. pulpit, good modern wrought-iron and brass lectern, and a beautiful illuminated missal (c. 1400) in a glass case.
- The harbour area is also attractive: a row of former fishermen’s cottages facing Quay Street with among them the little St Peter’s Chapel which was originally a salt store.
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- In Market House Lane, near the town centre, are some 1630 almshouses. The statue of Queen Anne (c. 1719) in Wellington Square is the work of Francis Bird. St Andrew’s Church (late 19th-cent.) beside it was designed by G. E.
Street. During the Middle Ages and till the late 18th cent., Minehead was an important port, both for fishing (herrings mainly) and trade (particularly with Wales and Ireland - wool, hides, cattle and coal especially). Great fires in 1791 and 1815, the disappearance of herrings from the area, and the silting up of its harbour brought slump. But early in the 19th cent. tourists began to arrive and in 1874 came the
railway.
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- The town has an excellent climate. On May Day it has a Hobby Horse Festival of rather less fame than PADSTOW’S.
The town of Minehead, overlooking the Bristol Channel, is an attractive modern holiday
resort with a mile -long seafront and a splendid curving stretch of sand. Its mild climate and beautiful surroundings make it a popular touring centre. Among its attractions, Minehead offers a model village, boat excursions and fishing trips. Offshore, there are remains of a prehistoric forest beneath the sea.
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- Beach
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- The beach is a wide expanse of gentle shelving coarse sand with
patches of shingle. At low water the waters edge is some
distance away, leaving plenty of room for beach games. There is a
shallow pool near the high tide mark suitable for young children to
paddle.
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- Local towns and
villages to visit
- Bridgewater
- Cheddar
- Dunster
- Ilfracombe
- Glastonbury
- Minehead
- Street
- Taunton
- Watchet
- Wellington
- Western-Super-Mare
- Yeovil
- Angling
- Sea fishing at
Lynmouth, Porlock Weir and Minehead. Freshwater fishing in Exmoor
streams on the River Exe at Exford and Dulverton and on the
Lyn at Lynmouth.
- Attractions
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- MAP
Local Accommodation
Minehead Caravan and Camping
sites
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