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By Air |
The nearest airport to Minehead is at Bristol. Bristol has grown in recent years and now has excellent air links. You'll find both domestic and international flights to Bristol from destinations accross much of Western Europe as well as Trans-atlantic flights to New York. The Airport has flights operated both by low-cost airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair to full service airlines such as KLM and Lufthansa and Continental.
To get to the Somerset coast from Bristol Airport take the Bristol Airport Flyer coach service from the Airport terminal to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. The coach runs between every 15 and every 30 minutes for most of the day. From Bristol Temple Meads railway station take the train to Taunton, a journey of a little over 30 minutes on a fast train with trains typically running twice an hour for most of the day. From there, take bus service 28 from Taunton station to Minehead, running twice per hour Monday - Saturday and between once an hour and once every two hours on Sundays, a journey from Taunton of around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
There is also an airport at Exeter with domestic and international flights. From Exeter take bus 56 or 56A to Exeter St Davids station. The bus runs hourly seven days a week and the journey takes a little under 30 minutes. From Exeter St Davids station take the train to Taunton. Trains typically run once or twice per hour and take a little under 30 minutes. Finally from Taunton station take bus 28 to Minehead. The bus runs twice per hour Monday - Saturday and a little less than hourly on Sundays and takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to Minehead.
By Coach |
There are no direct scheduled coach services to towns along the Somerset section of the coast path to my knowledge. National Express run to Taunton but you will have to travel on from there by local bus.
By Car |
From the M5 motorway from Exeter or Bristol exit at junction 25 and take the A38 signed for Taunton. Go straight on at the first roundabout. Go in the right hand lane of the dual-carriageway and turn right at the next roundabout. Now follow signs for A358 signed either for North Fitzwarren, Bishops Lydeard, Williton or Minehead (A39) at the various junctions. Then continue on the A358 through Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe, Bicknoller, Sampford Brett to Williton. At Williton take the A39 signed for Minehead. You pass through Carhampton and Watchet to arrive at Minehead. Turn right at the roundabout when signed for the sea front if you are beginning from Minhead. If you are travelling further along the Somerset coast take the A39 west towards Lynton and Lynmouth via Porlock - the road runs along or close to the coast with access roads to the smaller towns and villages from the A39. Note that the A39 beyond Minehead has some steep hills (25 gradient), some small single track sections and hairpin bends so care is needed along this road. From the A303 take the A358 to the M5 junction 25 and follow the directions as above.
By Sea |
The nearest Ferry ports to the Somerset coast are in Plymouth, Poole or Weymouth. Brittany Ferries operate from Plymouth to Roscoff and Santander. This is useful if you are travelling from Europe and wish to take your own car with you. From Plymouth, it is a quite a long drive to the Somerset coast, probably taking around 2 hours. From Poole, Condor Ferries run services to and from both Poole and Weymouth from the Channel Islands and St Malo in France. From either Poole or Weymouth it is around a 2 hour drive to the Somerset coast.
By Train |
The Somerset coast is poorly served by train. The nearest railway stations are at Taunton or Barnstaple. Taunton station is on the main line from London to Exeter, Plymouth and Cornwall and between Exeter, Bristol and Birmingham. First Great Western operate trains to Taunton from London Paddington via Reading, Westbury and Castle Cary to Taunton and on to Exeter, Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth and stations through Cornwall to Penzance. Taunton is around 2 hours from London. Local trains also run from Bristol and Exeter via Weston-super-Mare. Cross Country Trains also run trains to Taunton from the North of England, Midlands and Devon and Cornwall. From Taunton a bus service runs to Minehead at the start of the coast path.
Barnstaple station is at the end of the Tarka line from Exeter. Trains run hourly from Exeter St Davids to Barnstaple a journey of around 1 hour, Monday - Saturday and less frequently on Sundays. All trains to and from Barnstaple are operated by First Great Western. At Exeter St Davids there are connections to London (Paddington and Waterloo), Devon and Cornwall, Bristol, The Midlands, The North and Scotland. From Barnstaple you need to take a local bus service to Barnstaple bus station and from there one of several frequent buses to Ilfracombe. From Ilfracombe bus 300 runs 3 times daily during the summer to Lynmouth where you connect on to another bus (also service 300) on to Porlock and Minehead (the two 300 bus routes are designed to connect at Lynmouth). In total the journey from Barnstaple to Minehead would take 2 to 3 hours.