Weston-Super-Mare

The forecast for the week was not great so we reconciled ourselves to having a walking and cycling week as there were clearly going to be no beach days.
On Monday we walked from the site to Burnham on Sea which lies at the southern end of Brean Sands. Leaving the site we quickly got onto the beach and walked the four miles into the town along firm sands. We passed the famous nine legged lighthouse on our way which loomed larger as we approached.
Burnham on Sea offered everything we would expect of an English seaside town, a short pier filled with an amusement arcade, ice cream parlour and a greasy spoon. crappy gift shops and cheap beach shops. It does have a Weatherspoons which occupies the old Golf Club headquarters at one end of the esplanade. We found a fabric shop for K and a Lidl for some grocery provisions. We decided that another four mile walk back along the beach would be a little optimistic for Karen at this stage in her recovery (she had already taken 21,000 steps) so we took the bus back to the site late in the afternoon.
On Tuesday we cycled into Weston Super Mare along a designated sustrans cycle route, passing trough the edge of Uphill then along the sea front at Weston. We locked our bikes up near the pier and resisted the temptation to pay £1 each for the privilege of walking along the pier to view the amusement arcade, ice cream parlour and greasy spoon. Instead we continued along the esplanade to walk around the tide pool, there was no one in enjoying the water while we were there but a coupe of hardy souls in wet swimming costumes were shivering nearby so presumably they had just climbed out. We had our lunch on the headland prior to heading into the town for a look see. Our verdict was that it is just a bigger version of Burnham.
The Warren Farm site that we were staying on holds a market every Wednesday through the holiday season so we walked along to it in the morning. It was quite a nice little market and we bought from a couple of the stalls. In the afternoon we set off northwards from the site to walk up and along Brean Down in very windy conditions. The views from the top of the down were extensive in both directions, as we walked along he sheltered northern side of the down we walked towards the island of Steep Holm, Flat Holm lay to the right in the Bristol Channel. Both these islands are now nature reserves and one featured this very week on Countryfile. The fort at the end of the Down was built in 1862 by Palmerston to defend against any invasion from Napoleon III, never used for that purpose it did feature in WW2 as a place for experimentation. One experiment was to try to develop a bouncing bomb that could be launched from a ship, not a great success apparently - the rails used to deliver the device apparently extended beyond the shore line over the sea until it all went horribly wrong on one test - apparently the resulting explosion demolished the seaward end of the test rig and that was the end of that idea. Walking back across the Down back to site was quite pleasant with the wind behind us. K had completed another 19000 steps.
On Thursday we took the bikes out again to visit the local wet lands at Bleadon Levels and to walk some of the Tidal Walk. We enjoyed a tea and cake at the marina in Uphill. The salt flats presented an almost Dickensian scene.
On Friday we cycled into Burnham on Sea to do some grocery shopping then chilled in the van on the afternoon.
Saturday was market day in Burnham so we got the bikes out again for a bit of exercise, first taking in the craft market at Uphill. The market at Burnham was very busy as it sat behind the leisure park and amusement park. The market itself was truly awful, we found it impossible to believe that anyone would want to purchase any of the wares on offer. To us it redefined the words Complete Tat. Bargain Loving Brits by the Sea - eat your heart out.Read more