This is the beautifully preserved medieval
village of Dunster in Somerset, with quaint cottages, a delightful vibrant High Street,
an imposing Castle, an iconic yarn market and all surrounded by the stunning Exmoor
National Park making it a great base for a holiday. Join us as we explore this quintessentially
English village along with some other local attractions. The beautiful village of Dunster is situated in the northwest of Somerset on the northeast
coast of Exmoor National Park a few miles from the seaside town of Minehead. With no national rail station, you are best
to come by car although you can take a train from Paddington to Taunton and the number
28 bus to Dunster in around three hours. There are two car parks one at each end of
the village we picked the smaller "Park Street" car park. It was £2.20 for two hours. Straight away you're hit with chocolate box
cottages as we start our walk into the historic centre. We'll be back later to see them in greater
detail. On the corner of Park Street and West Street
is the Forester Arms Pub leading us along West Street. Be careful as there are no pavements in places
and traffic does like to zoom by! A Saxon Fort was positioned on the hill in
the Middle Ages but the village grew following the Norman Conquest. It was originally a trading Port known as
Dunster Haven, hard to believe now as the sea has retreated well over a mile away. Losing its seaport the village turned to the
wool trade for its income for which it became very successful and well-known for. There are around 200 listed buildings in the
village. The building on the corner of West Street
and St George's Street was erected in 1878 as a Methodist Church it is now a popular
tea room that also sells local Dunster gin. Reaching the top of West Street we see the
charming church of Saint George it is mostly 15th century but there is still some evidence
of the original 12th and 13th-century building. Interestingly inside you'll notice the magnificently
carved Rood Screen. The church was shared with the monks of Dunster
Priory but after a number of quarrels between them and the local parishioners, this screen
was built to effectively separate the monks in the East chancel and the parish using the
West. Following its installation peace was restored. The hymn "All things bright and beautiful"
has a link to Dunster. Cecile Francis Alexander wrote the hymn in
1848 and passed through Dunster on her travels. The landscape of Grabbist Hill and the River
Avill are claimed to be part of her inspiration amongst other places she visited. As we leave the church to continue our walk
into the centre, on the left is a small opening with a wrought iron gate to a charming public
village garden that is well worth a short walk around. This land was once part of the Priory for the monks,
after the dissolution of monasteries, it was bought by the Luttrell family, the owners
of the castle and they used it for kitchen gardens to provide food for the table. In more recent times the land was overgrown
and without use so in 1980 the villagers clubbed together and bought the land turning it into
a lovely garden for the community. From this vantage point we get a view of the
folly "Conygar Tower", with its prominent position on the hill overlooking the village
this 18-meter three-story red sandstone Tower was commissioned by Henry Luttrell and built
in 1775. You can walk up here if you're feeling fit. The rewards are panoramic views. This is the old Nunnery, dating from 1453
and linked to the Dunster Priory. We arrive at the lower end of the High Street
and a walking entrance to Dunster Castle. We sadly can't film inside so won't be visiting
today. It's a large attraction for the village a
former motte and bailey Castle. It was owned by the Luttrell family for 600
years and renovated into a Victorian country house and tourist attraction in the 19th century. There is a lot to see and wonderful tropical
gardens to explore. The high street looks almost as it did 200
years ago. You will enjoy walking up and down each side
of the street browsing the many independent shops where you'll find local arts and crafts,
home stores, many a tea room and a couple of restaurants. The focal point at the top is the wonderful
and striking octagonal structure of the Yarn Market, built in 1609 by George Luttrell of
the castle. It provided a dry sheltered area for the village
to sell its wool and Kerseymere. Shepherds brought wool fleeces from Exmoor
to Dunster, the cloth trade was so important here that an act of parliament was adopted
in 1607 to regulate how the Kersey cloth known as "Dunsters" could be made. The timber frame is just incredible. Opposite the Yarn Market is the charming Luttrell
Arms Hotel dating from the late 15th century. It is thought to have formerly been the residents
of the Abbots of Cleeve, we'll be visiting the Abbey ruins later. A pretty lane allows us to climb the hill
and look back over the village exposing the castle through the trees. Continuing along the High Street the road
turns into Dunster Steep and it's here we find the Exmoor National Park Centre, a great
place to get free leaflets on walks and activities you can do in the area. A large car park with toilets can also be
found at this end of the village right next to a cafe and ice cream seller. We'll now make our way back into the centre
of the High Street to a very sweet Museum. The Dunster Memorial Hall is situated in the
centre of the High Street and contains a small free museum you can visit charting the history
of the village with a collection of local exhibits and information boards. It also contains a huge doll collection started
by Mrs Molly Hardwick from her Dunster cottage in 1957. The collection expanded when friends travelling
across the world returned with unexpected gifts. On her death in 1970 she gifted this historic
collection to the village and this started the museum. The Best of Exmoor invited us to visit this
stunning village and the local area, they have many cute and cosy holiday cottages in
the vicinity of Dunster and all over Exmoor so if you're planning to stay and enjoy rural
life then do check out their website for some lovely places to stay for all group sizes
and dog-friendly properties. You can get £30 off a booking using our MemorySeekers
special code at checkout. Heading back to where we started we again
passed down West Street but this time we'll turn into Mill Lane which gives you an indication
of what's down this road. Running by the River Avill is a cafe and disappointingly
out of view is the water mill which appears can only be seen if you have a ticket for
the castle. This Victorian water mill is apparently in
working order making stone-ground wholemeal flour. Walking back up Mill Lane take a left turn
down a path signposted Gallox Bridge. To reach this gorgeous Bridge you need to
pass through the end of Park Street where we started earlier and through the lovely
chocolate box cottages. This medieval packhorse bridge was designed
so horses and donkeys laden with goods bags could cross the river. It linked to the market village and the wool-producing
pastures to the south. The shepherds would cross here with fleeces
on their way to the yarn market. It was called Gallox Bridge, deriving from
the gallows that stood on a hill outside the town. The gallows were a symbol of the authority
of the Lords of Dunster Castle who had the right to try and hang any thief caught within
their area of jurisdiction. Having enjoyed the delights of the village
and these lovely cottages let's grab the car and explore further afield around the local
area. Our first stop is at Nutcombe Bottom and the
start of the tall trees trail path. The car park for this walk is just a five-minute
drive from the village centre. It was completely empty partly due to the
rain I would think. It's a completely flat walk and easy for all
levels although unless it's been dry for some time bring your walking boots even with the
tree canopy above it can be squishy underfoot. Winding through the trees and along a stream
in this peaceful grove you'll enjoy the surroundings and solitude only interrupted by the odd dog
walker. Many of the trees were planted around the
1870s and this walk is home to a 60 metre 197-foot high Douglas fir which is reputed
the highest tree in England , well when it Well, it was when it was measured in 2009. and
here it is! I wonder how much it's grown since and if
it still holds the title. Moving on with our English Heritage cards
in hand, five miles away in Washford are the impressive ruins of Cleeve Abbey. You enter the grounds over the River Washford
and then through the Abbey Gate House. The Abbey was founded over 800 years ago the
first Abbott and his colony of 12 monks arrived in 1198 from Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire
with the land being given to them by the Earl of Lincoln. It would take until the end of the 13th century
for all the buildings to be completed and then 200 years later they were radically remodelled
due to the change in living standards. Whilst Henry VIII may have destroyed the church
in the Reformation the Cloisters and other buildings are quite well preserved and give
an insight into the Cistercian Monk's way of life here. Let's head up to the refectory an extremely
well-preserved room remodelled in the 15th century. Originally the dining hall for the monks its
best feature has to be the timber roof apparently known as a "wagon roof" which has carvings
of angels, bosses and foliage. Quite remarkable that it survives. You can still see a door in the wall with
steps to the pulpit now bricked up. Down a corridor is a very unique find, the
painted chamber, not easy to see through the perspect window. Dating from the mid-15th century it depicts
a morality tale taken from "Deeds of the Romans" a popular medieval book. This is the dormitory where the monks slept
probably one of the most complete in Britain. Outside we can get a clearer picture of its
size and see the arched entrance to the chapter house where the monks met daily to discuss
business. Little remains of the church but the foundation
stones map out its location. In one corner a small section of floor tiles
has been found still vibrant in colours. Leaving monastic life behind us we head to
the coast just a few miles away and the quaint fishing town of Watchet. Here you will find a number of streets with
a wide selection of shops to browse an active Marina, not one but two beaches rich in fossils
and a number of museums to explore. A fish and trade port from at least the 10th
Century, today a modern Marina makes use of the harbour. It once exported iron ore from the nearby
Brendon Hills, transported on the West Somerset Mineral Railway. Paper and flour mills also helped the town
to grow. Walking along the Esplanade we find a statue
of the town's most famous Mariner "Yankee Jack" Born locally in 1839 he went to sea
and joined a Yankee ship in the American Civil War singing as he sailed and bringing his
songs home with him when he retired at 61. This is Watchet station now part of the West
Somerset Heritage Railway line linking Bishop's Lydeard with Minehead passing through Watchet,
Washford and Dunster amongst other places on the way. The station in Dunster is about a mile from
the village which is why we didn't see it earlier. There are no steam trains running today sadly
but it is supposed to be a very scenic run along the coast and into the Somerset countryside
and the longest steam service in the country. Interestingly it was Isambard Kingdom Brunel
that brought the railway to this area. Nearby the station is a lovely little free
Boat Museum that holds a collection of "flattener" boats. These traditional boats popularly known as
"flatties" were used along the shore of the Bristol Channel where the shallow water would
expose a large expanse of mud flat at low tide. You'll also find many other nautical artefacts
charting the history of the local fishing industry and there are plenty of interactive
things for the children to do. That was just a quick look at some of the
things you can see and do here now let's look ahead to next time in Exmoor. In our last episode in Exmoor, we take a scenic
drive across the moors to a popular walking trail up Dunkery Beacon for incredible views
in all directions. We catch a glimpse of the famous Exmoor ponies
and search out some of the more hidden villages in the national park, so do join us again
one more time in Exmoor next week. Subscribe now so you don't miss it. Thanks for watching the MemorySeekers.
