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Coastal path sign that sent millions on their way up for auction

Chris LockyerSomerset
News imageGraham Eaves A wooden post with two wooden arrows pointing left and right. On the left it says 'Coast path, Minehead, 1 quarter of a mile' and on the right it says, Coast Path, Poole 629 and 3 quarters, and Porlock 7'Graham Eaves
The unassuming wooden post that guided millions of people at the start of the South West Coast Path

The South West Coast Path welcomes nine million walkers a year - and the start of the journey in Somerset has been marked by a simple wooden post for decades.

The fingerpost in Minehead tells walkers heading on their way that it is 629.75 miles to where the path ends in Poole Harbour, Dorset.

But now this overlooked, simple piece of history could soon be swapping Minehead seafront for someone's home - as it is has been taken down by Exmoor National Park and replaced, and is set to go under the hammer.

Graham Eaves, 72, who is on his ninth traversal of the route, said the signpost in question helped with the excitement of the journey and he was considering making a bid for it.

News imageGraham Eaves A man wearing a blue fleece, blue walking trousers and a rucksack looks at the camera. He is leaning against a sculpture of a pair of hands holding a map, which towers over him. Behind him is some grass, trees and a house.Graham Eaves
Graham Eaves has walked the path nine times
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Eaves' passion for the path also extends to the signage across the route.

"It's the signs that attract people, it's the posts, the markers, the fingerposts," he said as he was about to hit the halfway point on his latest adventure.

"There's so many variations - if you've done a really tough section and you get to the end of that and you find a marker, it's like a sense of achievement.

"When you get to that first fingerpost you think 'What am I doing?', and then it's a mixture of emotions, it's the excitement and you know you're ready to go - but then you realise the mileage you've got to walk.

Of the signpost going up for auction, he called it "an iconic sign".

He said he would love to add it to his collection of path memorabilia, adding: "I'll definitely be bidding on that."

News imageGraham Eaves A wooden post with three directional signs on. One is obscured, but two pointing to the right read 'Bridleway, Bossington Hill 3' and 'Coast path, Hurlestone Point 4, Bossington, 5'.Graham Eaves
The signs mark the way across the pathway - particularly on Exmoor

Raising money for Exmoor National Park's Rights of Way work, the fingerpost will be auctioned silently online, meaning no one will know who has bid the most.

Clare Weeks, from the park, said: "The fingerposts are a real iconic part of the Exmoor landscape - they help walkers, riders, cyclists find their way across the national park.

"This one has such a direct connection with the start of the South West Coast Path, it just carries a real sense of place and history around Exmoor - it is really iconic."

The minimum bid is £300 and online bidding closes at 23:59 GMT on 26 October.

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