Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning, people of Somerset. It's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter, wishing
00:07you a very happy Somerset Day. You join me on the B3191 Cleve Hill, above the seaside
00:14town of Watchit, just off the diverted England coast path, looking down over the valley towards
00:20the West Somerset Railway and the Mineral Line. I intended to originally start my live
00:25stream a little further up the road at the Warren Bay village, just up there, but unfortunately
00:31signal wasn't great, so I've come a little further down the road, and for the next 20
00:35minutes or so we're going to be walking into Watchit from the top of Cleve Hill here. It
00:41was a bit of a struggle getting up, but I've made it in one piece in this blistering heat
00:46on a gorgeous May day, and we're going to be talking about Somerset Day. We're also
00:51going to be talking about this road that I'm walking on at the moment, because if we were
00:57trying to do this live stream at this time last year, we wouldn't have legally been allowed on
01:03this stretch of road. It's only recently, as a result of the efforts of the Watchit Task Force
01:09and Somerset Council, that this closed stretch of the B3191 between Watchit and Blue Anchor
01:17has reopened to pedestrians and cyclists. We've seen a fair few cyclists running up and down here
01:24over the course of the morning, and as we get closer into the town centre, I'm sure we'll see
01:29a lot more. There are huge numbers of events taking place across our beloved county to mark
01:35Somerset Day. We've put a link into the comments section listing some of the best. If you forget
01:42to get out and about and see it, let me know if you're celebrating any particular events of your
01:47own. I'll give them a shout out, and as ever, if you have any questions, do drop them in the comments
01:53and I will get to as many of them as I can. Those that I don't get to, we'll do our best to respond
01:59retrospectively. So we'll come on to Cleve Hill in a little while, but for those of you who are
02:07new to Somerset, if you've never watched these live streams before and you're wondering
02:11why is Somerset Day a thing? I thought, no, Yorkshire Day was silly enough. Well, it's not
02:17silly. It's something in which we should take great pride. The 11th of May is significant in
02:24Somerset for numerous reasons. It marks the call to arms of Alfred the Great and the gathering of
02:33all people of Somerset to march against the invading Vikings back in the 9th century.
02:41It's also the anniversary of several other events. I'm referring to the official Somerset
02:48Day website, so you know the information I'm about to give you is genuine. There are three key dates,
02:52all of which occur on or around May the 11th, and this is why they are marked on Somerset Day. So we
02:58start back in 878, when Alfred the Great took refuge at Athoney on the Somerset levels, gathered
03:04all the people of Somerset, along with others from Wiltshire and Hampshire, and marched with them
03:10to defeat the invading Viking army. We don't know the exact date of that call to arms, but
03:18the showdown against the Vikings culminated around the first part of May, so it's fitting
03:24that we celebrate it. Flash forward nearly 100 years to the 11th of May 973, so in the 10th
03:31century, and St Dunstan, the Somerset-born Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the
03:37coronation of King Edgar in Bath Abbey, which was the first coronation of an English king for which
03:44we have any kind of surviving record, and the ceremony that took place on that date, a lot of
03:51it still survives in the modern coronation ceremony. A lot of the traditions that were in place
03:57at that stage back in the 10th century were still being used when King Charles III was crowned
04:05not so long ago. And the third date of significance surrounding the 11th of May
04:13in Somerset goes for a little further and is
04:19rather less kind to people of a royal disposition, and that is the 11th of May 1645 at the height of
04:26the English civil war, with the second siege of Taunton drawing to a close after royalist forces
04:33withdrew from the town and the parliamentarians held it. It was seen as a watershed in the civil
04:40war, giving rise to the rhyme that was chanted in Taunton thereafter,
04:45Rejoice ye dogs, says the 11th of May, the day the cavaliers ran away. So we have a mixture of
04:54royal, political and cultural significance, all of which serves to shed new light on this
05:03beloved county of ours. And that's all very well and good, and you might be saying,
05:07yeah, those are reasons to celebrate, Somerset has such a storied history, but why have we come
05:12out to watch it? Why aren't we in Glastonbury, which has such a strong association with St.
05:17Dunstan? Well, I'll tell you why, because this is one of the first opportunities that we have had
05:22not just myself as a journalist or a Somerset resident, but that many people around this area
05:26will have had to explore this route back into Watchit. And we cast your minds back
05:35to early January 2023, as we get a good view over the sound of Watchit,
05:43and fittingly enough, a couple of cyclists pass us by.
05:46Back in January 2023, this vital route between Watchit and the neighbouring village of Blue
05:53Anchor, which is about two miles back in that direction, was closed indefinitely by then
06:01Somerset County Council, now Somerset Council, due to the fears surrounding erosion on this part of
06:08the coast. There were fears of the instability of the geological foundations of this. We are
06:13very near the Watchit Fault, and this area, as you'll see when we get nearer to the coast,
06:19has been subject to erosion for many, many years. There's been numerous attempts
06:23looking at ways to fix this, including funding set aside for rock armour by the Environment Agency,
06:30a planned housing development of 136 homes which would route the road further inland that was
06:38twice turned down by local councillors. But in January 2023, the council took the view
06:44that the road was no longer safe, and as a result, no motor vehicles, since that date,
06:53have been allowed to pass between Watchit and Blue Anchor.
07:02I should stress, that was wonderful timing, that there are plenty of people still living
07:06on this stretch of the road, including the holiday park near where we started.
07:10You can still legally live up to this point, but you cannot drive into Watchit from the west,
07:17or get out to Blue Anchor from the east. You have to go all the way down, back to the main road,
07:22and either cut through Carrampton and those little villages, and come in from the west,
07:29or if you live all the way in Minehead, you can take the Steamcoast Trail,
07:32if you fancy a walk or a cycle on the beach. Now, Somerset Council has estimated that it
07:41will cost between £30 and £60 million for a new road scheme that would completely
07:49reconnect the two settlements. It would almost certainly involve moving the road inland,
07:54along the lines of the housing development that was proposed. There have been various other
07:58solutions that have been looked at, including a bypass over the Wandsworth paper mill site,
08:04which lies a few hundred yards down over that ridge, and you can just see, obviously I won't
08:12get too close because we're near Harris Fencing for a reason, that is the scale of the erosion
08:17on this section of the coast. The road is mere yards from falling into the Bristol Channel.
08:23It's all very precarious. Now, obviously the road closure has had a huge impact
08:28on the economy of Watchet. This is a major commuter route, and in high season, which we're
08:36coming into now, there are lots of people who come up and stay on this part of the coast to
08:42use this route as a back way when the A39 is congested, and the economy of Watchet was going
08:49to take a huge hit as a result of not having that passing trade, and locals not being able to come
08:54into the town to spend their pay packets. So Somerset Council, over the last nearly 80 months,
09:02has been looking at various initiatives to soften the blow. There was a provision of £30,000 for
09:08the newly formed Watchet Task Force, which includes the Town Council and the Chamber of Trade,
09:14looking at ways to make the town centre more accessible, holding more events to attract people
09:20to the town, and looking at ways that existing active travel routes, including the Mineral Line
09:25from Washford, which we explored last summer, looking at ways to improve that to encourage more
09:30people to come in without having to clog up the main road in and out, which is the B3191
09:36Brendan Road that bends in from the south. You can also get into Watchet from the Doniford side.
09:40That road is still open, but it is on the narrow side. Now, a few weeks ago, we had some good news
09:48in that further studies had been looked at on this road, which as you can see is now quite
09:53narrow and overgrown as a result of all the trees and the branches from these high hedges,
10:00and the Council announced that the road would stay closed to motorists, but it would reopen
10:07to pedestrians and cyclists, which is why we have this Harris fencing and these huge
10:12huge boulders, they look like giant Lego bricks to me, that have been put in place.
10:17If we look back up the road, you can see there's, you could just about get a mobility scooter through
10:23there, which is also legal to take up, but unless you have one of those incredibly narrow
10:29Renault Twizys or anything like that, other vehicles can't get up there. What it means is
10:34that Watchet and Blue Anchor are reconnected. It means that the people who come to stay at
10:39Warren Bay or any of the other holiday parks on that road to Blue Anchor, don't have to go the
10:45long way around to come into town if they want to have a pint or a portion of fish and chips or
10:50something else in the evening. Watchet has tried to market itself in recent years as its huge
10:55cultural offering, with the delivery of the East Quay building from the Onion Collective,
10:59its links to the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, along with other famous figures.
11:05If you've lived in the area, you'll probably know this already, but for those who don't,
11:08I think it's fascinating and as a huge Coleridge fan, I love it every time I come here and see
11:14that sculpture of the ancient mariner from his epic poem, which we will be coming towards,
11:19because my plan is, we're going to continue down Cleve Hill, past the West Bay Park Homes area,
11:26which is just coming up on the left, we're going to go into the town centre, walking towards East
11:31Quay, and we might get a side of some of the events that are taking place this Somerset Day.
11:38If you have only just joined me, it's Daniel Mumby here, your local democracy reporter.
11:42Happy Somerset Day to you on this fantastic day. We hear that the warm weather is going to last
11:50through into Sunday and then next week it's going to get pretty atrocious with the rain,
11:54certainly in my neck of the woods in Chard, but we're out in Watchet today to mark Somerset Day
11:59and to explore the B3191 Cleve Hill, which is disappearing behind us, which is now reopening
12:07to pedestrians and cyclists. You still can't drive between Watchet and Blue Anchor,
12:12but having that foot access, albeit on a steepish hill, it is a huge boost and a huge shot in the
12:22arm for residents needing to get out towards Minehead or along the coast, and for the many
12:28people who visit Watchet every year, whether it's for a summer holiday or a long weekend
12:34or just a day out. I love coming to this part of the coast because it is so
12:40characterful, whether it's the colourful buildings, the extraordinary landscape,
12:48the huge amount of colour and the wildlife. Obviously there's still no momey going on in
12:54certain parts of the county, so a lot of the verges have been left to grow wild and
12:59plenty of flowers out. It's just the perfect day for a walk near the beach.
13:04As we said at the start of this stream, we did put in a link in the description
13:10to our brief guide to Somerset Day, which will give you a number of
13:14options elsewhere for you to have a look around. There is a full programme of events taking place
13:20in Watchet today, which is available on the Town Council's website. I'll see if I can pop that in
13:26at the end of the broadcast. But there's one other thing that I think we should mention.
13:30We've been talking about walking and cycling and the efforts to open up the town a little bit more
13:37until full motor traffic can be restored out towards Blue Anchor. But, fittingly enough,
13:45in addition to this being Somerset Day, hello Conor, nice to hear from you. Always lovely to
13:52be in Watchet, the people are really friendly. It's also worth pointing out that next week,
13:58the 13th to the 19th of May, is Mental Health Awareness Week and Somerset Council
14:05are taking as this year's theme, Movement, Move More from Mental Health. Their public
14:10health team are working with the Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership, or SASP,
14:16which sounds like a rather aggressive insect, and they are essentially asking people to
14:23look into ways of getting more exercise during that week to improve their mental health,
14:27whether it's going for a walk on your lunch break, dancing to music, stretching while watching the
14:32TV, or maybe signing up for a new class at one of your local leisure centres or swimming pools.
14:39And they're doing this because Somerset has a relatively high proportion of people
14:46in recent years that have been diagnosed with depression and numerous studies have shown that
14:52exercise of any kind and regular physical movement has been shown to boost self-esteem,
14:58improve mood, enhance brain function. And just as we come into Watchet, I'll give you a brief
15:05statement from Councillor Adam Dance, who is the lead member for Public Health Equalities and
15:10Diversity. He said, many of us struggle to incorporate enough movement into our busy
15:15daily lives and this year we want to help you find moments for movement in your daily routines.
15:20Even the smallest act of movement has huge potential to enhance
15:24our mental well-being. If you'd like to get moving more, join us in this campaign
15:29and see how simple it can be whilst reaping the benefits. And there's plenty of information on
15:34the council's website which we will also link to after this broadcast. If you've only just joined
15:41me, it's Daniel Mumby here, your local democracy reporter. We're coming into Watchet proper.
15:46We started our journey at the top of Cleve Hill near the diverted England coast path which runs
15:52all the way inland towards Blue Anchor. We started quite near the cut down to the mineral line which
15:58leads you out into the Washford Old Cleve area. We're here to mark Somerset Day, a celebration
16:07of everything that there is to be cherished about our amazing county and it's a very long list. I
16:13know that very often we in the press are accused of being only negative but if we didn't love this
16:20place we wouldn't write about it so much and care about it so deeply that we want to see
16:24it improved even further. And for all of the problems and the difficulties that
16:31living in a place like this brings, whether it's pressure on public services, the dilemma surrounding
16:37new housing and transport, the impact on the environment. We talked about coastal erosion at
16:42the beginning of the stream. These days are opportunities for us to showcase everything
16:50that there is to be proud of in this glorious county. I've been fortunate enough to live in
16:59many different parts of the UK during my 36 years on this planet. I've lived in Somerset for nearly
17:0610 of them and I can safely say I have no intention of moving anywhere else in the near future.
17:14It is a county of great variety, of great culture of significance and great spiritual pull
17:25and on top of it the food's great, the beer's excellent and the people are friendly so what
17:28more do you want? Like I say there are numerous events taking place all around Watcher today so
17:35please do check out Watcher Town Council's website as we pause near the marina and the
17:42statue of the ancient mariner from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem. I love that piece of work.
17:56We'll just go a little further along.
17:57It really is a superb day to to mark all things Somerset and I hope that if you're
18:10staying somewhere near, maybe you're just over the border in North Devon or
18:14maybe in Wiltshire, I would encourage you to pop over the border
18:19and sample all of Somerset's delights, not just Watcher but everywhere else.
18:23Well with the drumming and the sound of folk music ringing in our ears, I'm sure Yankee Jack
18:31could have been very proud if he was still alive to hear this. As we look out over Watcher marina
18:35on this glorious May day, I will wish you a happy Somerset day. It's been great to explore
18:42the reopened Cleve Hill. Do check it out for yourself if you've got a bicycle. It is a little
18:47steep in places but well worth it. If you missed any part of this stream, it will be available
18:51on our Facebook page later today. There'll be an article talking about the public health benefits
18:58and the reopening of Cleve Hill that will land early next week. And on Monday, join me bright
19:04and early because I'll be in Taunton for the start of construction on the new crossing near
19:11Vivery Park on the A38 Upper High Street. And we'll also be talking about the Chelsea Flower
19:19Show, the Taunton Flower Show, the much better one at that point. In the meantime,
19:24this is Daniel Munby, your local democracy reporter, looking out over the East Quay in
19:29wonderful Watcher, wishing you a happy Somerset day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
19:34make the most of the brilliant weather and I will see you again very soon. Bye for now.