The remainder of our day was spent sleeping and eating. We enjoyed coffee and cake in Blenheim Gardens, just opposite our B&B and, found a lovely little Italian cafe for lunch where we spent an age chatting to the owner, Christina, about Italy, Australia and Scotland. Food was delicious. At night we had booked in to a local eatery where Joanna was able to enjoy what is becoming a rare English dish of properly made steak and kidney pudding. After a last walk on the beach we returned to our digs to prepare for tomorrow and to rest up.
The weather forecast is mixed with cloudy skies but muggy heat. It would not be surprising if we have a thunderstorm before we are finished.
Nearby, Dunster Castle dominates a tree-lined hillside, rising ghostly in the morning mist from among the trees. Built in Norman times, it has looked over many difficult times in local and national history. The earliest reference to the castle is 1086, soon after the Alfred the Great's iconic battle and rise to power in 1066. The coastal section just off from where the castle is, is known as Blue Anchor Bay and as you walk along here you are walking parallel to the West Somerset Railway. First proposed at a meeting in 1856, the West Somerset Railway has had a chequered history since its opening in 1862. Enjoying initial success, use of the line deteriorated until its closure by British Rail 1971, only to be re-opened in 1976 as a heritage railway line. It is the longest standard gauge heritage line in the United Kingdom. Subsequent to our visit, the line was closed in January 2019 for saftey works to be carried out. It was re-opened at the end of March 2019.
As we walked in to town, we passed some lovely artwork on the back of the harbour wall, commissioned by the Watchet Arts Group, which fair cheered up the place. Completed single-handedly by local artist Pat Dennis, features a number of themes from Watchet's history.
Later, by the harbour, we pass the forlorn sculpture of The Ancient Mariner by the Scots sculptor, Alan B Herriot. Commissioned by the Watchet Market House Museum, it celebrates the poem of the same name by the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In the epic poem, the mariner shoots an albatross and is condemned to wear it round his neck. From this somes the oft used phrase 'an albatross round your neck'. If you have never read the poem, give it a go. It is a wacking great read, a great story full of adventure and disaster in equal measure.
We arrived in the town just as some of the cafes and diners were closing down after the lunch rush. From the Esplanade, we made our way down Swain Street, where we found the little Chives Cafe & Deli where we both enjoyed a 'savoury cream tea', which consisted of a large and lovely cheese scone, filled with tomatoe chutney and cream cheese. Served with lashings of tea it was a real treat. As we ate, we spoke to an elderly Cornish couple who were on a day out from 'Dahn West'. With their delightful Cornish accent and friendly demeanor we laughed our way through lunch with them.
The official route here goes behind a holiday camp, but we came across notices that informed us there was a detour in place and looking at the detour, which would have taken us on a wide sweep out in to the countryside, we decided to give it a body swerve. Instead, we set off to find a way through the holiday camp, under the interested scrutiny of a couple of security guards.
At the other end we emerged in to a field on top of the cliff and with St Audrie's Bay lying in front of us. The area where there had been a landslip was close to the edge of the path but we were able to pass it with care. While we are used to seeing the consequences of coastal erosion we were still surprised at the large cracks in the earth that criss-crossed the clifftop here, indicating there are more falls to come. We had a last short stretch along the base of beautiful, inclined, red and low sandstone cliffs before we were at journey's end. Along the way we stopped to speak to two women who advised us about the extent of the work underway at Hinkley Point and, from what they said, it scuppered our plans for walking along the beach tomorrow. From the beach on Audrie Bay we climbed a set of shoogly steps uo and in to the holiday camp where we were to be spending the night. After booking in and getting settled in our room, we enjoyed fish and chips (him) and minute steak (her) in the restaurant before retiring to rest and recupperate in our chalet.