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Historic Towns & Picturesque Villages

Pictures of Minehead

a Seaside Town in the county of Somerset

About Minehead

Minehead is a quintessential English seaside resort on the beautiful Somerset coast whose mild climate has been a magnet for visitors since Victorian times. At the end of Quay Street, Minehead's snug little harbour is surrounded with cottages from the 17th-century, but Minehead's history reaches beyond these quaint thatched buildings, to the time when it was a Saxon settlement.

In the 17th-century, the harbour was a busy place, ships left for such far-away places as Portugal, Africa, and North America. Trade ebbed as the level of the sea began to drop - but the harbour was extended to offer what was once described as the safest harbour on the Bristol Channel.

A 15th-century church dominates the old town which clambers the side of a hill. Its lantern tower has guided mariners safely home for hundreds of years.

These days Minehead attracts holiday makers from many parts of the country. It has a sea-front over a mile long where when the tide recedes visitors can enjoy a firm sandy beach with a few pebbles. At the harbour end of the town there are pleasant places to tarry so that you can peacefully watch the endless stream of colourful fishing boats, and pleasure craft sailing in and out of the harbour. The front is backed by flower decked walks along a wide promenade, and there are beautiful gardens in to relax or enjoy a quiet evening stroll. Minehead has won both national and international awards for its stunning floral displays.

As well as being a superb destination for the enjoyment of a family holiday, Minehead makes an excellent centre for those wishing to discover the charm and beauty of the Exmoor National Park. The resort offers the most modern leisure facilities both indoor and out, has excellent shopping facilities, and offers a good choice of accommodation ranging from holiday camp's to hotels, and pleasant caravan touring parks.

Minehead offers a host of seaside attractions, it is the terminus for The West Somerset Steam Railway, there is a miniature railway, regular fishing trips, boat trips, golf, and in the countryside away from the town there are horses for hire.

This is a lovely place, which despite expanding with the coming of the railways in the 19th-century, still manages to retain the charm and "feel" of the small fishing village it once was.

Recommended towns & villages near Minehead

Selworthy

Selworthy Green (30 Pictures) a Picturesque Village in the county of Somerset

(2.9 miles, 4.7 km, direction W of Minehead)

Selworthy Green is the start of a picturesque walk through steep woodlands to the gorse-gold and heather clad summit of Selworthy Beacon from which there are magnificent views over the undulating countryside...

Porlock Bridleway

Porlock (52 Pictures) a Seaside Town in the county of Somerset

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Once, long before the 11th-century when the sea receded the village of Porlock was a Port....

A packhorse bridge in the village of Winsford on Exmoor National Park, Somerset.

Winsford (3 Pictures) a Picturesque Village in the county of Somerset

(7.9 miles, 12.8 km, direction SW of Minehead)

One of the prettiest and most unspoilt of villages, steeped in history and mentioned in the Domesday book..

Thatched houses in the village of Holford on the edge of the Quantock hills, Somerset

Holford (4 Pictures) a Picturesque Village in the county of Somerset

(12.4 miles, 19.9 km, direction E of Minehead)

Holford lies in a peaceful wooded valley at the foot of the lovely Quantock Hills crowning the landscape where the county of Somerset sweeps towards the coast...

Southerndown

Southerndown (6 Pictures) in the county of Glamorgan

(18.3 miles, 29.5 km, direction N of Minehead)

The village of Southerndown is set back from the dramatic dry-stone cliffs surrounding Dunraven Bay, these are mostly formed by alternate layers of limestone and shale, which give the cliffs their unusually regular pattern...

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Nearby attractions..

Dunster - Village & Castle (1) - June 2003

Dunster Castle & Garden (46 Pictures)

(2.3 miles, 3.6 km, direction SE)

The high walls of Dunster Castle look down over the quaint village of Dunster from its imperious setting atop of a classically.....

Porlock Bay

Exmoor National Park (107 Pictures)

(8.6 miles, 13.9 km, direction SW)

A castle perched high above the sea dominates the north-eastern corner of Exmoor. For hundreds of years Dunster Castle has stood.....

Quantock Hills

Quantock Hills (216 Pictures)

(10.4 miles, 16.7 km, direction E)

This beautiful range of hills is a part of England where stags and deer can still be seen roaming freely. In many ways the.....

Tarr Steps, Dulverton, Somerset, dating from 1000 BC

Tarr Steps (9 Pictures)

(10.6 miles, 17.0 km, direction SW)

A Prehistoric bridge dating from 1000 BC. The bridge crosses the river Barle with some of its stones weighing 5 tonnes, and said.....

Halsway Manor Children's Festival

Halsway Manor (4 Pictures)

(11.3 miles, 18.1 km, direction SE)

Halsway Manor is unique residential Folk Centre set on the southern slopes of the Quantock Hills in West Somerset. Set in.....

Watersmeet near Lynmouth, North Devon

Watersmeet (36 Pictures)

(13.8 miles, 22.2 km, direction W)

This is a delightful fishing lodge from 1823 located at the picturesque spot in the East Lyn Valley where the waters of the River.....

Valley of rocks near Lynton, Devon

The Valley of Rocks (22 Pictures)

(16.5 miles, 26.6 km, direction W)

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