No Absentees for Town Trail (within the community)

WADAS explored the historic core of Weston-super-Mare, following a Civic Society Town Trail on January 14th 2006. The party were treated to extracts from the diary of Francis (kinky) Kilvert on the joys of sea bathing while pausing to admire the following local landmarks:

Royal Hotel - built in 1810 with stables and enlarged in 1849. Weston's first hotel.
The Thatched Cottage - Weston's first holiday home, built for the Rev. William Leeves, Rector of Wrington.
Royal Crescent, Park Villas and Greenfield Place - all built in Bath Stone following the introduction of the railway in 1841.
Grand Pier - 1904 currently undergoing remodelling of the entrance pavilions.
Wellington Terrace - built in 1849.
Prince Consort Gardens - notes blew away.
Birnbeck Pier - built in 1867 to a design by Eugenius Birch. Ancient fisheries are found close by where 'gull yellers' were employed. An attractive sounding job to several WADAS members.
Royal Pier Hotel - built in the 1850's, originally as a school.

Eventually the hikers (with their carers) made their way along the sea wall to Anchor Head on a windy winter afternoon. It was here that the heliotropic (nay breezotropic) badge of party leader was passed on to Steve who was entreated to describe his adventures with fish.

On the route back to the Sovereign Centre he explained how the Marine Lake had at one time been partially enclosed by a concrete structure containing changing rooms and kiosks facing out to sea. During this era his family Shell Shop was located by the entrance to the complex. All these buildings were demolished in the late eighties.

Finally WADAS inspected an exhibition of the new residential development at Knightstone Island, a mixture of new apartment blocks and refurbished buildings. Flats in the old baths looked interesting, but hadn't sold as well as the new ones since they probably won't have sea views (unless sea levels rise substantially).