Williton

The name of Williton is Anglo-Saxon and means "estate on the Willet" (river); the Willet is a brook that rises at Willet, flows north through the hamlet of Stream, and close to the former manor house of Williton, then it joins the Doniford Brook north-east of Williton. Both watercourses seem to have been known as the Willet in the 12th century. "Willet" may well be a British name. In the time of Edward the Elder the manor at Wiilitun was a royal hunting estate; its only pre-Conquest mention is in Edward's charter to the priory at Taunton, in which the prior and monks are enjoined to provide board and lodging for a single night, when the king was progressing, with dogs and falcons and their…

Williton is a good centre for visiting the Quantock Hills, the Brendons and Exmoor as well as the coast at Minehead, Dunster, Blue Anchor and Watchet, which are on the West Somerset Coast Path. Accommodation may be obtained in the village. There are facilities nearby for camping, sailing and wind-surfing as well as the usual beach activities. On the nearby cliffs fossils are exposed. There is easy access to the West Somerset Railway, which is the longest private railway in the country, and is run by a trust. Places of interest are the Bakelite Museum and the Tropiquaria Zoo at the old radio station. Halsway Folk Music Centre is not far away. The village lies on the route of the Macmillan…