Discover Williton

Williton combines railway and industrial history with historic buildings and a circular walk. If you’re looking for a hotel for a stay in Williton, you can decide in advance whether railway heritage, local history or a walk will shape your stay. The West Somerset Railway represents the railway heritage, while prehistoric traces and historic buildings add to the town’s history.

Railway and Station

The West Somerset Railway is a rural branch line of the former Great Western Railway and preserves railway and industrial history. As a 20-mile heritage railway, it runs through the countryside and along the Somerset coast. The line thus connects the historic railway theme with the region’s landscape and coastal connections.

Williton station is the main intermediate passing station on the West Somerset Railway and has two platforms. It is about a mile east of the town centre. The booking office building dates from 1862 and retains its original fittings. Thus, in addition to the station’s function, its date of construction and surviving details are part of the town’s railway heritage.

The station has a café and a shop, with indoor seating and benches on the platform. Facilities may change; if you’re factoring them into your plans, check what is currently available before travelling.

Historic Traces in the Town

A medieval wayside cross stands at the junction of High Street and Bank Street, near its original location. It still marks Williton’s main crossroads. St Peter’s Church contains an alabaster font from 1666 and a poor box from 1680. These dated details offer two specific glimpses into the town’s history.

Williton Hospital is housed in a former workhouse designed by George Gilbert Scott and William Moffatt and built between 1838 and 1840. The largely unused building is considered one of the best-preserved examples of the workhouses built by the two architects. Alongside the railway history, this is a building whose former use and architectural significance shape the town in a different way.

The Battlegore barrows lie northwest of Williton. They attest to a late prehistoric presence near the settlement; their dating places them in either the Neolithic or Bronze Age.

Museum, Circular Walk and Surrounding Area

The Bakelite Museum moved its collection to Williton in 1994 and opened to the public there in 1995. The former collection showcased historic plastics, including radios, telephones, egg cups, musical instruments and toys. The collection displayed in the town was put into storage in 2018. Before travelling, check whether it has reopened before planning a visit to the museum.

The Aller Farm, Capton and Sampford Brett circular walk starts at St Peter’s Church. A 2021 leaflet from Williton Parish Council gives its length as approximately 3 miles and its duration as about 1½ hours. These are approximate figures; check local path conditions. For further guidance, Somerset Council publishes a walking and cycling map for Watchet and Williton.

Williton is on the edge of the Quantock Hills and close to the Brendon Hills and Exmoor National Park. These landscape connections complement the specific information about the town and railway; they should not be confused with the route of the circular walk mentioned above.

Arts and crafts workshops are also among the activities available in the town: Hayley’s Williton CIC offers them in Williton. As workshop dates can change, check the current programme before your trip. Williton Memorial Ground also has a children’s play area, which travellers can take into account when choosing what to do.

More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Catcott, Minehead, Puriton, Wedmore, West Chinnock, Somerton, Goathurst, Burnham-On-Sea

Back to the main travel overview: Somerset.