Minehead Station Webcam – West Somerset Railway Terminus

The Minehead Station Webcam looks along the platform of the seaside terminus of the West Somerset Railway in Somerset, England, toward the station canopy and the houses of Minehead climbing the wooded slopes of North Hill behind it. A line of coaches, several in chocolate and cream, stands on the sidings to the left, and the yellow carriage shed fills the right of the picture. Railcam UK streams this view from the Dunster end of the station, and a second camera, labeled Signal Cabin, watches the line run east to the level crossing on Seaward Way. On operating days, steam and heritage diesel trains arrive here from Bishops Lydeard and leave again from the same platform at the western end of the line.

About Minehead Station

Minehead station opened on 16 July 1874 as the terminus of the Minehead Railway, a line worked by the Bristol and Exeter Railway. In 1934 the platforms were lengthened to 380 meters (1,250 feet) and a 61-meter (200-foot) canopy went up at the town end, the end this camera faces. British Rail closed the line on 4 January 1971. The West Somerset Railway reopened the first stretch, Minehead to Blue Anchor, on 28 March 1976, and trains ran on to Williton on 28 August that year. Today regular services cover 33.0 kilometers (20.5 miles) to Bishops Lydeard, on the longest standard gauge independent heritage railway in the United Kingdom.

The station has one wide platform with a track on each face. The railway says Platform 1 is about 400 meters (a quarter of a mile) long, with the shorter Platform 2 beside it, and Railcam UK’s own note for the camera puts the bay platform on the left of the picture and the main platform on the right. The yellow building on the right is the carriage shed, part of a carriage workshop opened at the Dunster end in 1991, with the locomotive yard beyond it. The station also has a turntable, rescued from Pwllheli in 1979, lengthened from 16.8 meters (55 feet) to 19.8 meters (65 feet) and finally brought into use in 2008. Its signal box stood at Dunster until it was moved along the line to Minehead in 1977, and the second camera carries the label Signal Cabin.

Minehead itself had 11,752 residents at the 2021 census. It sits on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, 34 kilometers (21 miles) northwest of Taunton, just outside Exmoor National Park, at the foot of North Hill, a steep outcrop of Exmoor that rises straight from the harbor shore.

Weather and Climate in Minehead

Minehead has its own Met Office station, and its 1991 to 2020 averages describe a mild, wet coast. January averages a high of 9.1°C (48°F) and a low of 4.0°C (39°F), and each month from October to January brings more than 105 millimeters (4.1 inches) of rain, out of 896.6 millimeters (35.3 inches) a year. Around the December solstice the town gets just under 8 hours of daylight, so winter trains can arrive under a low sun or a flat gray sky, and the platform surface can shine with rain.

Spring warms slowly, with average highs of 13.7°C (57°F) in April and 16.6°C (62°F) in May. July is the warmest month at 21.1°C (70°F) by day and 13.5°C (56°F) at night, and August is the driest, with 50.0 millimeters (2.0 inches) of rain. Midsummer days last about 16.5 hours, so in June and July the camera stays in daylight well into the evening. Autumn holds on through September at 18.8°C (66°F) before October drops to 15.3°C (60°F).

Things to Do Near Minehead Station

Minehead’s sea wall, 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) long, was built in 1997 and 1998, and the following year 320,000 tons of sand were placed between four rock groynes to make a new beach. Butlins Minehead, which opened in 1962, lies just east of the station. In the other direction, a sculpture of two hands holding a map on Quay Street marks the start of the South West Coast Path, the 1,014-kilometer (630-mile) National Trail that heads west onto North Hill. Up the hill, Higher Town keeps rows of cottages, some still thatched, around the 15th-century St Michael’s Church, whose tower once carried a beacon light for ships.

The railway itself is the easiest day out. Dunster is the first stop, 2.8 kilometers (1.75 miles) down the line, for the National Trust’s Dunster Castle and its terraced gardens, the Dunster Working Watermill by the River Avill, which the Trust restored and opened to visitors in 1980, and the octagonal Yarn Market on the High Street, an early 17th-century reminder of the village’s cloth trade. Blue Anchor, the next stop after Dunster, is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) from Minehead. Back at the terminus, the Buffer Stop Shop sells books and model railway sets, and a large public car park sits next to the station.

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Perguntas frequentes

Where is Minehead Station located?

Minehead station is on Warren Road in Minehead, Somerset, in southwest England, close to the seafront and a short walk from the town center. It is the western terminus of the West Somerset Railway, and the town lies 34 kilometers (21 miles) northwest of Taunton.

What can you see on the Minehead Station Webcam?

The main camera looks along the platform from the Dunster end toward the canopy and the town, with stabled coaches on the left, the yellow carriage shed on the right and North Hill on the skyline. The Seaward Way Crossing tab, labeled Signal Cabin, faces east past a row of old goods wagons on a siding to the level crossing barriers and signals.

What is the weather like in Minehead?

Mild and often wet. Winter highs average around 9°C (48°F) and summer highs around 21°C (70°F), with the most rain from October to January.

Do trains run at Minehead every day?

No. The West Somerset Railway runs to a seasonal timetable, and in late autumn and winter some days have no public services at all, with Christmas specials on selected dates. Check the railway’s calendar before waiting for a train.

How long is the West Somerset Railway?

The whole line is 36.6 kilometers (22.75 miles) long, and regular trains run 33.0 kilometers (20.5 miles) between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard, calling at stations including Dunster, Blue Anchor, Watchet and Williton.

Is there a turntable at Minehead station?

Yes. The railway rescued a turntable from Pwllheli in 1979, extended it from 16.8 meters (55 feet) to 19.8 meters (65 feet), and brought it into use at Minehead in 2008, opposite Platform 2.

What does the second Minehead Station Webcam show?

Labeled Signal Cabin, it looks east along the running line to the level crossing where the railway crosses Seaward Way, the relief road to the seafront. Every train leaving Minehead for Dunster passes through this view, and the barriers come down across the road before each one.

Fonte: Railcam Reino Unido / Ferrovia West Somerset