Minwat one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Minwat here.

Although a flat route, it starts near the golf course in Minehead and meanders mostly along the coast, tricky in parts. Not the most attractive coastal walk.

I struggled to upload all the photos I wanted to last time - here are the rest including the official diversion.

The walk begins at the terminus of the West Somerset Heritage Railway Line, (which starts at Bishops Lydeard and is not linked to the main line, except by bus). The walk continues eastwards along Minehead Esplanade, past Butlins Holiday park with the sea on your left. At the end of the esplanade there are steps or a ramp down to the Golf Club building. The path turns left by the club house and ascends a short, steep sandy rise to the top of the sand dunes. The path narrows here to about 3ft wide and undulates along the sand dunes for about 50m alongside the golf course. The path then becomes firmer and more stony, narrowing to 1.5ft at one point through coastal flora.
The path then opens out and becomes more of a track above the high water line (except possibly for storm surges) and continues alongside the golf course (watch out for stray shots). At the end of the golf course there are 2 stone pill boxes and the path continues in front of a long line of beach huts. It then crosses a large stony car park before picking up a new cycle track (the Steam Coast Trail). The South West Coastal path actually directs you along the top of the stony beach but the tarmac Steam Coast Trail is slightly more inland so away from the high tide and easier walking; so I followed this instead. As of June 2021, the Steam Coast Trail had yet to be completed as it turns into plastic grid underlay then a hard core track to Blue Anchor.
The access from the track to Blue Anchor Esplanade is officially along the beach which may be cut off at a very high tide and involves a set of steps up from the beach. There is a level way through in-front of more beach huts but this is marked as private access for residents only. The route continues along the long esplanade at Blue Anchor past a couple of cafés, a Holiday Park and a set of public toilets. There is a short stretch alongside a fast, narrow road without a pavement and then the route is blocked due to landslip all the way to Watchet. The alternative of continuing along the road would be dangerous as it has no verge. The official diversion is to double back and follow a series of paths to Washford, then pick up the old Mineral Line (see photo).
I have given this route a rating of 2 stars as the section from Minehead to Blue Anchor is easy to navigate and very pleasant walking all off road. There is a station of the West Somerset Heritage Railway at Blue Anchor so that could be used. However, the route as it stands is incomplete as it is closed half way.

It is some time since I walked this route so I cannot give an up to date review. My recollection is that it was pleasant so have given it 3 stars

However, I would like to draw attention to a potential obstacle (see photo, taken at Blue Anchor). In addition there is currently (May 2021) a signposted detour to the east of Blue Anchor following a landslip at ST 03292 43558.

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