The Designer Gardens

What can I say about Dunster ? It is a breath-taking medieval village crammed with history, beauty and atmosphere. A wealth of listed buildings and ancient landmarks, the village nestles around the protective walls of the spectacular Dunster Castle. The castle is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and was the home to the Luttrell family for 600 years. It is now entrusted to the National Trust who welcome 120,000 visitors a year. On the day of our visit, there were just a few visitors and, at times, we felt we were the only two people there, a truly uplifting experience and one I strongly recommend to anyone touring this area. You can tell I loved Dunster ! This is a fairly long blog as we spent quite some time here. I really didn’t want to leave, I know, I know, I’m not a guide for the place honestly !

Dunster was the inspiration for the hymn “All things bright and beautiful” and , once you’ve managed the very long and steep climb to the top, you are rewarded with views such as these.

The castle has a sunny, sheltered terrace and houses the National Collection of Arbutus (Strawberry Tree) but I was unable to photo them as the gardeners were all very busy in that area. You can’t really ask them to move because you’d like to take a photo !

Having made our descent, much easier on the calf muscles, we came upon this lovely wooden door and entered the Dream Garden. This is where the Luttrells would take a short cut from the castle to church.

To my delight and surprise , I found Dahlia heaven, rows and rows of them, 37 different varieties !

That really took my breath away, so many colours and shapes.
Now we needed a refreshment break so we made our way through the cobbled streets and came across a wonderfully built medieval Dovecot

with an interior that is stunning

The Yarn Market is at the top of the High Street and was once the trading centre of the village and is surrounded by fine houses once occupied by affluent merchants.

Having eaten a delicious lunch, well timed as there was a heavy rain shower while we ate indoors, we made our way back to the car. I honestly did feel this would be a day to remember and shall be boring everyone at home with even more photos !

So, if you’re visiting North Somerset, put Dunster on your ‘must-see’ places, you won’t regret it !

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