Dunster Beach

Where Dunster Beach is

Dunster Beach lies half a mile from Dunster village and takes in the mouth of the River Avill. Sea Lane leads to it, and Minehead lies to the west. Rows of privately owned beach chalets stand behind the shingle. Each measures about 5.5 by 4.3 metres, and some are let to holidaymakers while a few are lived in all year. Second World War pillboxes built of beach pebbles bonded with concrete still sit on the foreshore, relics of the anti-invasion defences along this coast.

This is not a bucket-and-spade beach. Expect pebbles and shingle underfoot, and a shore that changes with the very large tidal range of the Bristol Channel.

The old harbour

The beach sits where Dunster Haven once stood. That harbour at the mouth of the River Avill exported wool from Saxon times and was last used in the 17th century. The coast has since receded, and the old harbour has given way to dykes, meadows and marshes, so the working port is long gone and the shore is now a place to walk.

Neighbouring shores are covered in Blue Anchor Beach and Minehead Beach.

Parking and the chalets

The car park is on Sea Lane, behind the beach. Look at the signs on site for charges and how to pay. The chalets are private property, so keep to the public paths and the open shore. If you are staying in one, ask your host about vehicle access to the chalet site.

Tides, mud and dogs

Somerset Council warns that people on Bristol Channel beaches can be trapped by mud at low tide or by an incoming tide, and asks visitors to heed the signs. Read the council’s beach safety advice before you go, and stay off the mud.

Dog rules come from the council’s dog control order for Somerset West. Check the council’s public spaces protection orders page and the signs for this stretch.

For a castle day out nearby, see Dunster Castle and Dunster village.