The Rime of the Ancient Mariner autobiographical portrait of Coleridge himself, comparing the mariner's loneliness with Coleridge's own feelings of loneliness expressed in his letters and journals. In addition to being referred to in several other notable works, due to the popularity of the poem the phrase "albatross around one's neck" has become an English language idiom referring to "a heavy burden of guilt that becomes an obstacle to success". Monty Python's "Albatross Sketch" in which an irascible movie-theatre refreshment vendor tries to sell a single albatross from a tray around his neck, is a parody of Coleridge's description of the Mariner. The phrase "Water, water,
Watchet Kentsford Bridge is a packhorse bridge over the Washford River. It existed before the Reformation, possibly being a route to Cleeve Abbey and was repaired in 1613. The bridge is wide and has a total span of . Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" was written in 1797 whilst travelling through Watchet and the surrounding area. He lived at Coleridge Cottage in Nether Stowey and while living there he wrote "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison", part of "Christabel", "Frost at Midnight" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". It is claimed that the sight of harbour,