Last Sunday, I went to Watchet, a small harbour village in south west England. It's such a pity I could only spend a couple of hours here, barely enough to scratch the surface of this ancient quaint village. That means I need to come back again soon!
THE ESPLANADE
Most of my time at Watchet was spent around the marina. This is The Esplanade and faces the marina. Imagine yourself on the bench under the warm sun, ice cream in hand soaking in a rare beautiful summer day in England. Or alternatively, grab a beer and sit outside the pub, looking at the marina, pass the east and west piers and beyond into Bristol Channels. Life doesn't get much better than this.
This statue at the other end of The Esplanade is called The Ancient Mariner. It's a tribute to Samuel Taylor Coleridge who lived nearby at Nether Stowey in the late 18th century. Coleridge was a famous English poet and philosopher and co founded the Romantic Movement in England with another famous poet William Wordsworth. During a visit to Watchet, the view of the harbour inspired Coleridge to write one of his most famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
THE BUILDINGS
Watchet has a lot of quaint buildings, and I'm pretty sure I only saw a small part of them. When I came out from the car park I walked down one of the main street called Swaine Street. It was so pretty and I was going to take some photos on my way back. Sadly, I entered the car park via another street and never got the chance. But not to worry, I have some others.
Walking away from The Esplanade, these are first buildings, just some of the many charming ones I saw in the village. The white building on the right gives you an idea of how lovely this place is. The image is quite bright as it was a sunny day and I grabbed it off my Go Pro (note to myself, really must go back again). The brown building on the left is the former Market House, and has been converted to become the Watchet Market House Museum.
The Market House was built in 1820 on Market Street (where else? 😀) and a market used to be held here every Saturday. The upstairs of the building is now the Holy Cross Chapel.
As if a museum and a church isn't enough for a single builidng, the Market House also has a third function, or used to.
Watchet used to have a Court Leet, a type of local court from the Saxon times. The records for Watchet Court Leet dates back to 1273. With a court, you need a lock up, and this was located in the Market House. The entrance is on the other end of the building from the Museum entrance. Now that's we call a truly multi functional building!
This is the back of the Market House Museum, the Museum entrance is on the side ahead of me, and the Court Leet lock up is to my right. The houses behind the Market House Museum may not have any views, but they are so charming!
And talk of charming, this must be my favourite building. Who needs size when this is so cute? I would have loved to take a peek inside this mini cottage! Just look at how the onwer has tendered his/her front garden.
Opposite the mini cottage is Pebbles Tavern. I did peek inside and loved its eclectic vibes, exactly the type of place I would happily pop in for a drink - if it wasn't for Covid. Another reason to come back again.
Many of the cottages in Watchet have a nautical theme, either in its name or exterior furnishings such as door knobs and handles. Like this one, Sammy Hake's Cottage, has some anchors hanging outside it's front wall.
WEST PIER
Two piers guard the entrance to the Watchet Marina, the east and west pier. I'm standing on the West Pier here, looking across to the entrance of the marina.
The Bristol Channel is on the other side of the pier. Watchet was a busy harbour all the way up to the 19th century when it transported ore from the nearby mines across the Bristol Channel to Wales, and came back with Welsh coal.
Watchet Harbour Lighthouse was built in 1862 during the harbour's heydays, and stands on the end of the West Pier. Built of cast iron,the red hexagon tower can be seen quite far away. The lighthouse isn't that tall, only 22 feet/6.7 meter but it's light can be seen 9 nautical miles away. Do you notice the green window pane at the top of the tower? There are three of these window panes around the tower allowing the lighthouse to emit a green light. Why green? In the nautical world, a vessel's right side has green lights. When a vessel approaches Watchet Harbour, the lighthouse and the West Pier is on its right hand side, the green light will guide them in to make sure they are on the right course.
I came to Watchet after my visit to Kilve Beach, another local gem. It was quite late in the afternoon when I arrived and I had to go to dinner afterwards, so I couldn't stay long. It was such a pity that I didn't have enough time to walk around the area on the other side of The Esplanade and Swaine Street which I mentioned at the beginning. Give it another month or so, I'm going to come back again.
Watch out!! I'm going back to Watchet!!!
