Milling and Castling - Moorish Trip Day 2

A fairly energetic day today as I walked the couple of miles to Dunster (and back), the village is quite a bit higher than Minehead, so it was mainly uphill on the way there. The weather wasn't great either, a light drizzle that was never really heavy enough to put a waterproof on. Fortunately when I went to the pub yesterday I'd spotted the "Byway to Dunster" signs which saved walking the main road.

I was greeted by the sound of the church bells ringing peels, not very evenly I have to say! The one-but-lowest bell was like Corporal Jones, just too late every time! The village itself is a tourist trap from end to end, and would be considerably improved if they could ban vehicles, but it's very nice. I fancied a coffee by the time I got there so started at the Mill Tearoom. This is part of the National Trust estate but it's a delightful spot, sat in the garden by the river, or at least it was once the family with noisy untethered brats left. I don't mind children having fun but when they're running and shouting right by where other people are sitting trying to enjoy a quiet drink it's unacceptable. The waitress reckoned the seat I'd chosen, nicely shaded by a tree, was her favourite spot.

From there I paid my not unreasonable £12 (it's a bit cheaper if you don't go round the castle itself) and first toured the watermill. This is a working mill but they generally only actually grind flour on Wednesdays for a few hours. It's very unusual in having tandem wheels which run from a single water source. I had a bit of a chat with the lady miller before starting the ascent to the castle itself. The paths are steep in places, you can easily see why the first castle was built on the spot by the Normans, and apparently it was nearly impregnable.

I declined to join any of the optional tours of the kitchens or attics, but did walk round castle interior. I had to leave the rucksack at the entrance, which I was more than happy to do. Unfortunately many places now won't allow you to leave your bags, "For security reasons!" The guide acting as left luggage officer had two coffer chests to put the bags in! He did attach a numbered label and hand over the counterpart so I was confident of getting my own bag back.

The castle is largely as it was between the late Victorian and mid-20th Century periods. The interior hasn't got a huge amount to recommend it, it was quite good that there's a sitting room that you can actually use as such though, with sofas and a few games for the children. Otherwise it's the usual "don't touch", I'd left the snooker cue in the 'van so although the table was set up ready I didn't ask if I could have a game.

More uphill walking took me to the Victorian underground reservoir which was opened up a few years ago. This is in/under the main part of the Norman castle, it was built at the time modern facilities such as flush toilets and baths were being installed in the days before scheduling of ancient monuments would prevent such damage to archaeology.

The steps down from the highest part, the original Motte of the Motte and Bailey castle, were evil on the knees. The risers were just too high to comfortably step down and the treads were just too long to do in a single step. Down on the main castle green they'd got some more free games for children and adults but you could also try archery at £4 for 8 arrows - if I choose I can try for free later in the week!

The castle (and me) being exhausted I wandered round the village a bit, took in some more sights and found a pub. The first pint of Exmoor Bitter slid down well so I decided to have another one and lunch. The starter of grilled goats cheese was good, the Hunter's Chicken less so.

The walk back wasn't too bad, being more down than up. All through the walks and at the castle I kept hearing the steam whistle of the trains, so that's what I'm doing tomorrow.