For hundreds of years, Somerset's extraordinary coastline has served as the inspiration for some of Britain's most beloved authors and artists.
From Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner (immortalised at Watchet Marina) to ghost stories including blue ladies and shipwrecks, the ever-changing coastline has captured the imagination of both locals and visitors for generations.
Somerset Council has been working to open up more of the coast to the next generation, with its digital 'accessible coast' initiative creating interactive tours for those who have not yet explored its delights in person.
And now the coastline has caught the attention of four trained actors who run one of the UK's most popular horror podcasts, with the landscape being the setting for a new and unique story set over multiple time periods.
The Apocalypse Players podcast was born during the coronavirus pandemic, borne out of the players' shared fascination with the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, creator of the Cthulhu mythos.
The 'actual play' podcast sees our four players - Dominic Allen, Joseph Chance, Danann McAleer and Dan Wheeler - playing investigators grappling with monsters beyond all human comprehension in a range of time periods, from 1920s Massachusetts to modern-day Norwich.
Mr Wheeler said: "I'm from Hampshire originally, which is obviously a couple of counties over, but I've always felt a sort of cultural connection to this part of the country.
"I’ve lived in Bristol for the best part of a decade now, and have been lucky enough to perform in several theatres through the south west, most recently at Taunton Brewhouse in The Nutcracker last Christmas.
"Danann is the genuine local, having grown up in Weston-super-Mare, and both he and Dom trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, so all told the podcast does feel very much rooted in the region.
"While many of our stories are set in ‘Lovecraft Country’ (New England), it’s perhaps no surprise that we keep being drawn back here."
The group's latest full adventure, As The Waters Cover The Sea, begins with a walking trip in the Quantock Hills and soon spirals into a strange and terrifying tale involving cricket, crustaceans, cults and Alfoxton House.
Mr Chance wrote the scenario as an opportunity to "tell a very English tale" after numerous stories set across the pond.
He said: "We were due to head to Bristol for a convention and I suddenly thought: why not use the local area to seek out inspiration?
"I thought a good walking story could work on the coast, having been up to Woolaston a few years before and been struck by the sweep of the Severn Estuary landscape, looking ever westwards – ocean-ward – and it was partly from that view west that the title arrived.
"Once I'd thought of the coastal walk, I was absolutely swayed by the names I found on my research – Quantocks, Kilve and Alfoxton all leapt out at me as I looked for locations I needed on the map.
"The names themselves feel rooted and old and fundamentally English. Kilve goes back to the Doomsday, likely derived from the word 'cliff'.
"Alfoxton has its association with William and Dorothy Wordsworth staying there, and of course 'Quantock' is a name as old as the hills themselves.
"It dates right back to Saxon and Celtic origins. All good grounds for an English folk horror."
The coast path route along East Quantoxhead and Kilve is one of five routes that have been digitally mapped by the council's 'accessible coast' route, providing 360-degree views of the terrain to allow people to accurately plan their routes before visiting.
While some parts of the landscape will be immediately recognisable to listeners, Mr Chance has warned that not all may be as it seems.
He said: "I invented North Kilve as a sub-hamlet of Kilve to distance myself from the absolute reality of naming.
"With horror I find it’s often useful to say: 'this place is like a very real place – but also it is not.'
"It's a bit like Thomas Hardy’s Wessex or Lovecraft’s Arkham – it makes things feel very grounded but at the same time reminding us this is a place where the imagination can work and where fears can become real."
The latter stages of As The Waters Cover the Sea concern themselves with the Monmouth rebellion, an ill-fated attempt to unseat King James II which culminated at the Battle of Sedgemoor in July 1685.
Having previously dabbled in the Elizabethan period with their adventure Allhallowstide, this turn of events was an opportunity for the players to both show off their Shakespearean training and embrace Somerset's rebellious, independent spirit.
Mr Chance said: "I was drawn to Somerset being a gateway to the independent spirit of the west.
"I grew up in the darkest Eastern realms of Norfolk, and we had our rebellions there: Boudica, Robert Kett and the Roundheads. I think that independent spirit has always inspired a feeling of kinship with the west.
"For me, both Norfolk and Somerset possess something of an 'outsider' energy. These are rural places that get cut off and have strange, long held customs.
"All of which is perfect for fomenting discontent, but also ripe for unexplained ancient traditions on the edges of the 'civilised' home counties.
"I wanted a sense of teeming social unrest and high stakes in the background, as well as a picture of factions amidst powerful potential forces for change."
While As The Waters Cover The Sea is the Apocalypse Players' first foray into west Somerset, it is not the first time the podcast has dipped its toe into the county.
One of its earliest adventures, Unland, is set in 1991 and takes place in a fictional abandoned theme park somewhere between Glastonbury and Wells, tapping into the "remoteness and rural deprivation" that still sadly characterises much of Somerset.
Mr Wheeler said: "Somerset is the perfect setting for folk horror.
"Its geography has everything you could wish for - lonely expanses of marsh and moorland, ancient woodland, craggy coastline, the 'limestone gorge' and 'Severn mud' of Maggie Holland’s wonderful song 'A Place Called England'.
"But more than that, the county and its people somehow feel more authentically in touch with the past than other parts of England.
"From its connections to Arthurian legend through the spiritual hub of Glastonbury, to the history and folklore of places like Wookey Hole and Watchet, via cultural traditions like wassailing, solstice celebrations and Morris dancing - which are all alive and kicking here when they have slipped into history or pastiche elsewhere - Somerset speaks to the ancient and unknowable.
"Somerset feels like a place where ghosts could walk, cults gather, and fae creatures dance by moonlight."
Somerset also promises to feature further in future adventures, including the upcoming The Company of Light (set largely in Pensford) and live performances planned in Bristol nearer to Hallowe'en.
Mr Wheeler said: "We have some live events in Bristol this October - it will be our third annual 'Apoctoberfest'.
"It's a little mini-convention which includes an entirely improvised live version of the podcast, plus a day of gaming and some social meet-ups for the fans, who we’re expecting to travel from as far afield as the USA.
"Tickets will be going on sale over the summer, and the weekend will sell out fast."
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For more information on the podcast and future live events, visit www.apocalypseplayers.com.
Those wishing to explore the Somerset coast path virtually (ahead of any in-person visit) can currently use the 'accessible coast' resource to access five key sections: Minehead to Blue Anchor, Watchet, East Quantoxhead and Kilve, Apex Park and Burnham-on-Sea, and Brean Down.
The tours include information on accessibility, parking and public toilets, with walks being given different ratings according to the difficulty of the terrain.
Isobel Pring, speaking on behalf of the Somerset Trail Partnership for the King Charles III England Coast Path, said: "What feels easy for one person may feel very hard for someone else.
"It’s been an interesting experience to look at the coast path from so many perspectives and understand that sometimes things only need a minor change to open an area to more visitors.
"We hope that these resources will give everyone the confidence to enjoy a coastal ramble."
The virtual tours can be accessed by visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/access-for-all or www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/somersets-accessible-coast.
Printed leaflets will also be available at local visitor information centres and libraries across Somerset.
Ian Lewis from 360 South West added: "Working on this project has been a truly rewarding experience for us, and we've enjoyed bringing the Somerset coastline to life through these virtual tours.
"It’s been a pleasure to contribute to showcasing such a unique and beautiful part of the country in an accessible and engaging way."
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