Minehead is located in the northwest area of the county of Somerset, England. In 1991 it was twinned Saint Berthevin which is near Laval, a regional center of France. Butlins Holiday Park is also located there and has given Minehead a dramticely increased its seasonal tourist traffic by many thousand. The town originally got its name from the word mynedd, a Welsh word for mountain. In the 1086 Domesday Book it is said to be a manor owned by William de Moyon. The current harbor has a pier that dates back to 1616 and the town has a long history of being a port for the trade of livestock, wool, fish, coal, and butter.

In 1791 there was a massive fire and the town had major rebuilding done after it. Higher Town is one of the earliest areas of the town to be developed with many cottages, some still in existence and the Quy area was also developed early. During the 20th century the town saw a major increase in building that resulted in the construction of a main shopping area on a wide avenue and also roads with architecture of Edwardian style as well. Tourism became one of Minehead's biggest industries during the Victorian era and it is still a major part of the economy today.

Minehead can be found on the coast of Southwest England on the Bristol Channel. This gives it one of the highest ranges of tide in the world. North Hill over looks the town and Minehead is just outside Exmoor National Park boundaries. There is a dramatic exposure of cliffs around the shoreline that hold many fossils. A major storm washed away a great deal of the town's beach in 1990. The storm also caused the town serious flood damage. The Environment Agency deployed a £12.6 million plan to stop this kind of disaster from happening to the town in the future. It built a new sea wall over a mile long and also rock or concrete stepped revetment from 1997-1998. In 1999 over 320,000 tons of sand was brought in to build a new beach.

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