Dunster

Dunster is a village on the north-eastern edge of Exmoor National Park, in the area of Somerset Council. The 2021 census counted 863 people in the parish, so this is a small village rather than a town. It grew up around Dunster Castle, which the Luttrell family owned from the late 14th century until Colonel Sir Walter Luttrell gave it and most of its contents to the National Trust in 1976.

The castle gardens cover about 6 hectares, set in parkland of about 277 hectares. In the village itself, the 17th century Yarn Market is a market cross, and the Priory Church of St George, mostly 15th century, is Grade I listed. Dunster Working Watermill, a restored 18th century mill also known as Castle Mill, is still used to grind flour, which makes it a short stop for anyone who likes to see a mill in use. The village holds its Dunster Winter Festival provisionally from 4 to 6 December 2026, and the Dunster Show fills the castle lawns with a main ring and livestock classes, provisionally on Friday 20 August 2027.

The West Somerset Railway, a heritage line running from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard, serves the area, but Dunster station is about a mile from the village, so allow at least twenty minutes on foot or a lift when arriving by steam train. The village sits inside the Exmoor National Park boundary, which means the moor, with its open walking, is the natural next step once you have seen the castle, the market cross and the church. A cottage here suits a stay built around Exmoor’s eastern edge, with castle, church and mill all close together on foot.