Fiddington to Watchet – watch what?

I might stop these tedious wordplays. But not yet my dears, not yet. I packed my tent and was originally aiming to walk the 20 miles to Minehead. As a reminder – I’ve walked from John O’Groats to Fiddington, and four years ago from Minehead to Land’s End as part of the Southwest Coastal Path. Therefore …..Tadaaaaaa!!!!!!! I just need to walk 20 miles from Fiddington to Minehead to have completed a continuous walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Got it? No? How simply do you want me to explain it? Oh. You were kidding me. Ha ha!

The route today wound westwards near the coast on the north side of the Quantock Hills and on the south side of the Bristol Channel. The first few miles were country lanes and I caught a view of the Quantocks across a sweet corn field. Well, a sweetcorn field anyway.

A small village had a shop open and I got a scotch egg and cheese sandwich breakfast. Does it get any better than this? Eventually, I hit the main A39 road to Minehead, which continued as a death trap with no pavement, narrow lanes and steep sides which I couldn’t climb up to escape. I had previously taken a wrong turn on the little country lanes and continued in an erroneous direction for a mile, which needed to be rewound thus incurring a further mile. Oh erroneous me! My desire to make it to Minehead was rapidly diminishing. I made it to West Quantoxhead (nice little place with lovely church) and cut down towards the coast. 

The lane hit the sea at Watchet. Watch what? And went west into the town. Great views. Great day. 

A pint and a pizza in late afternoon and I got info on a local campsite. Early night? Fantastic. I hoiked it up to Warren Farm and got a pitch for a fiver, to the left of this caravan.

The view from behind the hedge was lovely, looking up the Severn estuary. 

I hunkered down in my little tent, put the Maccabees on the iPad and nodded off before the end of Given to the Wild. The price of an early night is a couple of hours awake in the middle of the night but it’s a fair swap. 

14 miles today, including the erroneous misdirection, which would have made a televisual feast. Eight miles to finish this brilliant, four year trek. 

Night night.