Jubilee Gardens cafe, Minehead

A white-painted timber cafe with union flags a-plenty next to an elaborate "crazy" golf course somehow seemed to epitomise one aspect of British seaside leisure. That it was located in gardens built to commemorate a jubilee underpinned the archetypal nature of the scene. But which jubilee? If I had to guess I'd plump for Queen Elizabeth II's 1977 Silver Jubilee.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Minehead harbour and pier

Today's photograph is a view of Minehead harbour from the pier. It shows its location below a wooded hill with the oldest houses squeezed into a strip below the trees and more recent Victorian and later buildings at the head of the pier. Among the latter is the lifeboat station of 1901 which is still in use, housing two inshore rescue craft.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Minehead harbour

The first pier at Minehead in Somerset was built in 1610 when the harbour became an important export and import location. Today the the harbour is still in use but commercial traffic has gone to bigger ports elsewhere and pleasure craft far outnumber the few engaged in fishing. Unusually, this harbour is, and always was, at the edge of the built up area of the coast, and today it is a popular destination for a walk from the centre of the town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Steps, Cleeve Abbey

Cleeve Abbey, near Minehead in Somerset, was founded in 1198 by the Cistercians. The religious buildings no longer exist, but some domestic buildings still stand including the dormitory, refectory and cloister. My photograph shows some steps lit by a window. The weathered stone and plaster hint at the lost magnificence.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5