Come
to Minehead for Sun, Sea, Sand and Moor, Exmoor
Minehead in Somerset is superbly positioned for
a variety of family holidays. Whether you are looking
for an active time with plenty of exercise, a peaceful
and relaxing time on the seaside or visits to sites
of historical interest, Minehead can offer all you
could possibly want.
Within the
area around Minehead you can enjoy including:
Exmoor, a beautiful and wild area offering superb
walking, bird-watching, cycling and pony-trekking.
Exmoor has a great range of environments from
open heather hills to quiet wooded valleys. Close
to Minehead is Exmoor's highest point, Dunkery
Beacon, and not far away is the famous Doone Country,
immortalised by R D Blackmore in Lorna Doone.
Many Red Deer are to be seen as well as the tough
and shaggy Exmoor ponies. One of the best ways
to enjoy Exmoor is on horseback; there are many
pony-trekking centres in the area with well-trained
horses and professional leaders.
The
West Somerset Steam Railway with its nine old-time
stations will take you on a journey of pure nostalgia
; along the coast, past Watchet harbour and Blue
Anchor Bay then through the Quantock Hills to
Bishop's Lydeard.
Dunster Castle,
only 2 miles from Minehead, is a stunning example
of a fortified castle. It is open to visitors
and contains many superb exhibits from its exciting
history.
The village
of Dunster is rightly famous for its many fascinating
features such as the Yarn Market, the Doll's Museum,
the Nunnery and the magnificent rood screen in
St George's Church. Some visitors even go to Dunster
just to experience the range and quality of its
tea-shops.
Porlock village,
5 miles to the west of Minehead, has found its
own place in history in the phrase 'a person from
Porlock'. The story is told that Samuel Taylor
Coleridge once woke up with a complete poem clear
in his head. He started to write it down "In
Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure-dome
decree....". He had written about 50 lines
when there was a knock on the door and a person
from Porlock called about some minor matter. When
the man had gone Coleridge sat down to write the
rest of the poem but couldn't remember it, which
is why this great work remained unfinished.
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