Watbis one

Verified Slow Way

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The Quantocks are wonderful hills, with sweeping views to Wales, beautiful wooded combes and this walk takes you across them, to or from the sea. You could take the West Somerset railway's steam train from one end to the other, but not apparently on a Friday. Luckily watbis is served by the 28 bus. There is a bit too much road work, albeit with decent views, for 5 stars, but the gentle yomp up from West Bagborough to the plateau starts spreading Somerset behind you, and the vistas only get better. On the top, it's not so well signposted, so GPS is helpful especially in poor visibility. Coming down, the coast reveals itself, and the final walk in from Doniford to Watchet along the beach is great if you get the tides right. Do visit East Quay Art Centre in Watchet. It has dropped into the sleepy ancient fishing port and shaken it up.

A good route with a steady climb/descent at the ends and a big yomp along the top of Quantock hills in between. Both ends of the walk are connected by the 28 bus and (on some days) by the West Somerset steam railway.

Bear in mind that you cannot use the section of the England Coast Path along the beach between Watchet and Doniford for a while around high tide, so best check the tide times before you go. The alternative is a not-so-pleasant road walk where you will have to watch your back a bit.

This Slow way was not at its best in early April after a very wet winter, hence not earning the five stars that it may well deserve at other times. The walk was very soggy underfoot in places and I’d recommend taking a minor detour near Triscombe to avoid an awkward, slippery steep bit through some woodland in such conditions (and actually maybe generally). See below for details.

We walked from Bishops Lydeard to Watchet. There is quite a lot of road walking for the first few miles, first through Bishops Lydeard (the pavement runs out towards the end of the village but there is a 20mph speed limit), and then gently but steadily upward to West Bagborough, interrupted by a welcome half mile of wooded bridleway part way along. There is often not a lot to see through the tall hedges on this section, but the sight of the Quantocks rising ahead pulls you onward.

There is a pub (the Rising Sun), in West Bagborough. No food or drink stops from here on til West Quantoxhead, as the Blue Ball in Triscombe is still shut and, judging by the state of its roof, unlikely to reopen soon.

The route leaves West Bagborough through a churchy wooden archway and takes to the fields and woods, sometimes using headlands around the edges of arable crops. Just before Triscombe, I recommend using the minor road instead of the plotted footpath forking right into the woods (roughly between w3w twitching.dishes.tweed and contexts.mingles.motion) as the steep, zigzaggy path down into the hamlet is poor and slippery (see the photo of my friend descending). It is not worth the effort.

From here it is all Quantock uplands for miles, starting with a moderate climb through Triscombe Combe, where there were highland cows grazing. The plot doesn’t make sense right near the top. Where the track forks, the bridleway actually jinks right a bit before heading up to the ridge, but as it is open access up here, you can just go diagonally left and cut off a corner.

The first mile or so along the top is along a big beech tree-lined bridleway, but you can walk on the grassy open hill equally well. Beyond the road crossing at Crowcombe Gate, the route follows tracks across miles of open heathland (it is very beautiful here in late summer) with grazing ponies and hill sheep around, and big views. The walking is easy on the stony, earthy and grass tracks but there is a maze of paths on the top of these hills and very little signage, so a bit of navigation is necessary (and more so in foggy conditions).

Towards West Quantoxhead, the coast comes into full sight and there is a long and steepening descent into the village, passing the National Trust carpark on the way. A bit after the village, the Slow Way takes to fields again to head down to Williton. This path looks to be reasonably well walked, and there is a headland on the side of the first arable field, but unfortunately the footpath down the pastures beyond has recently been confined to a narrow walkway behind a wire fence, presumably to separate walkers and their dogs from the grazing sheep. It’s a shame. The width between the new fence and the hedge is sometimes mean - less a metre - and it is likely to get overrun with nettles and hedgerow growth in places in summer. I hope people keep stomping along it anyway and keep it open.

No such problems after crossing the A39 at the edge of Williton, where the slow way picks up a wide entrance track to Egrove Farm. Beyond here, I was one if the first walkers to start reforming the footpath across a newly sown crop heading towards Doniford, and my boots got very claggy with soil.

At Doniford there is a little section along the road which mostly has a pavement, but not always. The traffic isn't heavy here but can sometimes be a bit quick. Follow the England Coast Path sign down to the beach from here as the plot is a little wayward. If the tide isn’t well out, which it wasn’t when we walked it, it is a bit of a hoppetty skip along the shingle and rocks, which was tiring at the end of a fifteen miler. Compensation was the sight of some curlews flying out of the shallows. It is a short stretch from here into Watchet with some steps up and down along the way, arriving into the harbour behind the new East Quay art centre (of which we are massive fans) which has a good cafe.

A superb route which takes the high route along the Quantocks. Excellent views with relatively easy walking (once on the ridge). At low tide the walk along the coast is particularly rewarding with opportunity for fossil hunting. The Bluebell pub at Triscombe was closed (at the time of this review) but hopefully will reopen in the future. There is a pub at West Bagborough.

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