We decided a couple of years ago to sell our house in Nottingham and to buy a home on the coast that was closer to Hilary’s family in Bristol and Barnstaple. After some considerable research we fell in love with the quaint town of Watchet in West Somerset with it’s ancient harbour and it’s West Somerset Railway steam trains.
We moved down with our chocolate Labrador, Cadbury is thriving on romps along the beach and swimming in the sea. We don’t have any children and we are both in our early 50’s. Our new house is on a hill with splendid views of the sea and the Quantock Hills. The railway passes just below the house and we see the plume of smoke and hear the whistle of steam trains plying between Bishop's Lydeard and Minehead.
We have been inspired by the Mark Twain quote “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
As described by Sally Shalam from The Guardian: "You've probably heard of Minehead – home to Butlin's and a wide sandy beach – and also Hinkley Point, the nuclear power plant about 20 miles east of the resort, but you might not have come across Watchet. The pint-sized harbour town is poised on the rocky coastline between the two, the Bristol Channel ahead of it, Exmoor behind.
The river Washford flows between cottages towards the sea, the heritage West Somerset Railway runs down to the port, which dates back 1,000 years, and the tiny main street is a Victorian gem."
Last week Princess Anne visited Watchet harbour to celebrate 150th anniversary of the town's lighthouse.
