SOMERSET - CHOOSING A FARM-COTTAGE HOLIDAY
 The family idea was to have a farm-cottage holiday in West Somerset. My wife, son and pet dog are all keen walkers. I prefer exploring villages and market towns, and taking photos.
Our daughter could join us for the weekend, and she likes driving around and shopping.
We sent for a Farm and Cottage brochure from a company specialising in West Country holidays. Featuring over 600 holiday homes, the choice was quickly narrowed down by Somerset destination and whether our dog could come.
The walkers wanted proximity to Exmoor National Park; and to the Quantock Hills, which was the first area in England to be designated as 'Outstanding Natural Beauty' -
AONB.
Personally, I aimed to visit Porlock, Minehead and the inland highlights.
I added another requirement: the property should have a 'country' feel to it - not just a suburban-type bungalow. That brought the selection down to cottages at Watchet and Kilve near the coast, Brendon Hills and the Quantocks.
Availability could be checked by phone or internet, and the booking was made instantly online. Our converted stone barn at Kilve was located a quarter mile down Sea Lane from the A39, halfway between Bridgwater and Minehead.
 Aldenham Cottage was comfortably furnished with two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and lounge. Winter visitors could back up the electric heating with an old-time wood-burning stove. A large basket of hefty logs sat alongside.
The property was part of a smallholding, where Tina and Richard Marchant also did b&b in the main farmhouse, but weekends only,
because they both working. A small group of goats and a 7-year-old pig named Babe came every morning to the garden fence to greet us and pose for pictures.
The cottage could also be ideal for any family with young children. However, the beach was all stones and soft mud. There's nothing like the gorgeous sands of Weston-super-Mare.
But this coastline from Kilve to Porlock was favourite walking country for
Coleridge and Wordsworth, who also strode around the hills, plotting
poems. A 36-mile Coleridge Way was established in 2005, and our family
walkers covered several sectors.
According to our AA Walking Guide to Somerset, the stream flowing past our cottage was the inspiration for some Wordsworth sonnets which he attributed years later to the River Duddon in the Lake District.
Meanwhile a visit to Watchet harbour, with a yarn from an old sailor, inspired Coleridge to write his famous poem 'The Ancient Mariner'. A statue of the Mariner was erected on the broad Esplanade in 2003.
The poet lived inland at the charming village of Nether Stowey, very handy along the A39. The first house into the main street is the Coleridge cottage, owned by the National Trust but open to visitors on afternoons only, April to September. Right opposite is 'The Ancient Mariner' pub.
The next village, back towards Kilve, is Holford, where every building is a picture. A mile or two up a splendid avenue or carriage drive, with superb views, is the Alfoxton Park Hotel.
This was originally the impressive house which the Wordsworths rented for £23 a year. The hotel has not been extended, but larger rooms have been split to make an 18-room hotel.
Our nearest major highlight was the hilltop 13th-century Dunster Castle and the extremely popular medieval village nestling on the lower slopes.
For anyone keen on technology, Dunster Water Mill was a working flour mill dating from 1680, and still produces stoneground flour for sale.
While the rest of the family hiked along the shoreline between Dunster beach and Minehead, I focussed on steam trains as they puffed into Blue Anchor station.
The West Somerset Railway offers 20 miles of steam between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard near Taunton. On most dates between April and October there are at least four steam trains a day. A more limited service operates during winter except for December weekends when Santa joins the workforce.
The walkers in our party found inspiration in the official National Park Guide to Exmoor, while the AA handbook on 50 Walks in Somerset suggested routes to follow.
Typical was a walk along the River Barle from the tiny village of Withypool to Tarr Steps, famed as the longest and most ancient clapper bridge in Britain.
This walk has been rated as the finest riverside trail in Somerset, full of variety, muddy patches and great variety of wildlife. Mostly it's a nature reserve.
Personally I pottered around Withypool, where pastel-coloured cottages lined the fast-flowing stream. An angler fishing for brown trout was full of enthusiasm for the location. He knew every inch of water, including stretches where salmon come up from the River Exe to spawn.
He said that even in high summer the area was very peaceful - 'undiscovered'. After heavy rain, when the fast-flowing river swelled, his young sons clamoured to navigate the river on inner tubes.
With bird-watching, biking, horse-riding and looking for wild ponies and red deer, West Somerset offers huge scope for activities and sightseeing.
Winter or summer, you can always find a farm cottage, located to fit your own special needs for holidays or short breaks.
Quick jump to other West Country
destinations
BATH - weekend in Jane Austen territory
CORNWALL
- choosing low season
CORNWALL - NORTH for
beaches, cliffs & legends
DARTMOOR -
Freedom to roam and explore
DAWLISH - Pioneer railway age
resort
EXETER/EXMOUTH - Tour base for
South Devon
ILFRACOMBE & NORTH DEVON -
The Heritage coast
LYNTON & LYNMOUTH - Devon's
Siamese-twin resorts
SIDMOUTH - Devon's
Regency gem
UP THE OTTER IN DEVON
- A winter cottage haven
"Books to read - click on cover pictures" or
click on the links below
50
Walks in
Somerset
- an AA Guide by Richard Turnbull. Suitable for the casual
walker who can choose walks mainly between 3 and 8 miles in length, with
some extensions for those who prefer a more arduous challenge.
Exmoor - Official National Park
Guide published by David & Charles. The beautifully illustrated
National Park also includes the Brendon Hills to the east, and Vale of
Porlock to the north.
Exmoor and the
Quantocks - an Ordnance Survey pathfinder guide published by Jarrold. 28
routes are each illustrated by the Ordnance Survey's own maps. Samuel
Taylor Coleridge - This acclaimed 750-page book in the
Oxford World's Classics series brings together a unique
combination of Coleridge's poetry and prose.
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