As soon as I've slung the car into a parking spot, I'm following holidaymakers, beachbag-toting parents and children swathed in multicoloured towels, flip-flopping towards the harbour. Just as the marina comes into view, so does a big, green steam engine, heaving and sighing its way into Watchet station.
You've probably heard of Minehead – home to Butlin's and a wide sandy beach – and also Hinkley Point, the nuclear power plant about 20 miles east of the resort, but you might not have come across Watchet. The pint-sized harbour town is poised on the rocky coastline between the two, the Bristol Channel ahead of it, Exmoor behind.
The river Washford flows between cottages towards the sea, the heritage West Somerset Railway runs down to the port, which dates back 1,000 years, and the tiny main street is a Victorian gem. Get to the point … where's the B&B? In the middle of that high street – an old shop, by the look of things. I ring the bell. Here's Jason Robinson at the door to let me in. He and his wife, Annie, discovered the town while searching for a wedding venue. Former creatives at Disney, they fell in love at work, and then with Watchet. On that wedding-plan trip they ended up buying a holiday house, then, when the old bric-a-brac shop next door came up for sale they bought that too. Jobs were chucked and renovation began just after last Christmas. This is their B&B's first week in business.
Jason tells me all this in the flagstoned "shopfront", perched at a wooden table large enough to seat all eight guests (so a place for sociable types). The vibe is industrial-luxe, the walls dark slate – a shade I liked a lot more before this washout summer – and at the far end is a fat (grey) sofa, cast-iron fireplace, a Mickey Mouse figure in a glass case and shelves of design books. As guest sitting rooms go, it's compact. I predict sunlounger-style sofa bagging at wine o'clock when all four rooms are full.
These are on the first and second floors: larger rooms at the front, smaller ones overlooking pretty courtyard gardens at the back. My monochrome bedroom faces a quaint-looking chemist's over the street and has a dressing area and bathroom with slipper bath, walk-in shower and full-size REN products (but hey, REN, those smells are a decade old, it's time for something new).
The only splash of colour is a picture wall, but attention to detail comes in spades. Water in a stoppered bottle, a tea tray has sugar tongs and muffins in a paper bag, the black wardrobe contains iron and board and the TV is subtly placed. The shower has a recessed shelf and, joy, controls I can reach before stepping under the shower head. Gripes? Dark roman blinds mean I have to choose between privacy or daylight, and the extractor fan goes on for ever.
A quick blast up on to Exmoor, and dinner at The Culbone, a pub serving Brixham fish and moorland beef, then sleep. Mmm, bed's wonderful.
Herby mushrooms and poached egg on toast, and fresh carrot and ginger juice go down very nicely in the morning. Never had breakfast sitting in a shop window before … gosh, the Quantock Pharmacy is busy. "Wish you were here," I scribble in my notebook, thinking of London friends, because Swain House is a rather chilled place to be.
• Accommodation was provided by Swain House. Main courses at The Culbone from £11.50 (01643 862259, theculbone.com). For more information visit-exmoor.co.uk
Sally Shalam (follow Sally on Twitter @sallyshalam, sallyshalamsbritain.co.uk)
