Good Friday
Today we await the arrival of family friend Mike, and son James and wife Lucy. They are joining us for the Easter weekend. With Mike due to arrive lunch time, we will spend the afternoon with a visit to Minehead, just a few miles from Dunster.
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About Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town in Somerset, positioned at the edge of Exmoor National Park. It features a sandy beach, a Victorian promenade, and serves as the starting point of the South West Coast Path. A notable landmark is Butlin’s Minehead Resort, established in 1962, which has been a significant contributor to the town’s tourism industry. The resort offers various attractions, including entertainment venues, swimming facilities, and family-friendly activities. Minehead also hosts the West Somerset Railway, a heritage steam railway, and provides access to nearby natural and historical sites, making it a base for exploring the region.
Our day
We met up with Mike for a swift pint in the Luttrell Arms, where he is staying for the weekend. Even though we only saw him on the way down when we met for dinner in Wincanton on Monday, it was great to see our old Unilever buddy once again.
We set off for Minehead and were amazed to find it nose to tail with cars. We later found out that it was Butlins change over day, and being Easter, it was particularly busy. It seems that this is a regular occurrence for the natives of Minhead who are ofen gridlocked on Fridays and Mondays through the season. Avoid!
To be honest, we found Minehead a bit drab (not helped by continual rain and drizzle). The beach does look amazing, and no doubt in fine weather is packed with fun seekers, but the town itself seemed to be typical of any town in England with the same old brands and chains.
Having walked to the beach (via the obligatory chip shop) and waved at all the cars standing stationery waiting to access Butlins, and the rain becoming a pest, a visit to the Queens Head was decided upon. From the outside, it looks like a typical back street, corner pub which only deceives as inside it is totally massive. As it is a bit of a chain style pub, we decided to only have one drink and we left.
Timberscombe
On our way back to Dunster, we decided to deviate to Timberscombe, scene of our epic weekend
The Lion Inn has recently reopened and was found to be a real locals pub, with much laughter being heard. Very pleasant hour spent, before we headed back to Dunster to get the car parked and try the one hostelry we had not yet visited – the Foresters Arms (https://www.foresters-arms-dunster.co.uk/). Considering last week we experienced something of a heatwave (for April), the sight of a roaring log fire was most welcome. Definitely the quirkiest pub we have been to so far – what pubs have table cloths these days; how many pubs have a parrot in the games swearing at customers; or a customer who takes his coat off, lays it on the floor so his wet and smelly dog (uglier than Ted from Gone Fishing) can settle down. By the way, we did agree that the bloke with dog can only be single!
Family gathers
By now James and Lucy had arrived, so we settled them into the cottage before having dinner back at the Stags Head Inn. Surprisingly busy, surprising good quality pub grub. Notable as well for confirming what we had already begun to realise – everyone in this part of the country is so friendly and chatty. We really are enjoying our little excursion to North Somerset.
