Come to Minehead for Sun, Sea, Sand and Moor, Exmoor Minehead in Somerset is superbly positioned for a variety of family holidays. Whether you are looking for an active time with plenty of exercise, a peaceful and relaxing time on the seaside or visits to sites of historical interest, Minehead can offer all you could possibly want. Within the area around Minehead you can enjoy including: Exmoor, a beautiful and wild area offering superb walking, bird-watching, cycling and pony-trekking. Exmoor has a great range of environments from open heather hills to quiet wooded valleys. Close to Minehead is Exmoor's highest point, Dunkery Beacon, and not far away is the famous Doone Country, immortalised by R D Blackmore in Lorna Doone. Many Red Deer are to be seen as well as the tough and shaggy Exmoor ponies. One of the best ways to enjoy Exmoor is on horseback; there are many pony-trekking centres in the area with well-trained horses and professional leaders. The West Somerset Steam Railway with its nine old-time stations will take you on a journey of pure nostalgia ; along the coast, past Watchet harbour and Blue Anchor Bay then through the Quantock Hills to Bishop's Lydeard. Dunster Castle, only 2 miles from Minehead, is a stunning example of a fortified castle. It is open to visitors and contains many superb exhibits from its exciting history. The village of Dunster is rightly famous for its many fascinating features such as the Yarn Market, the Doll's Museum, the Nunnery and the magnificent rood screen in St George's Church. Some visitors even go to Dunster just to experience the range and quality of its tea-shops. Porlock village, 5 miles to the west of Minehead, has found its own place in history in the phrase 'a person from Porlock'. The story is told that Samuel Taylor Coleridge once woke up with a complete poem clear in his head. He started to write it down "In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree....". He had written about 50 lines when there was a knock on the door and a person from Porlock called about some minor matter. When the man had gone Coleridge sat down to write the rest of the poem but couldn't remember it, which is why this great work remained unfinished.