A Day at Dunster Castle

When we were away in Somerset, we decided to take advantage of our National Trust membership and explore a nearby site. We were so fortunate that it turned out that Dunster Castle was near to us, as we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I fell in love with the gardens, the castle was fun to explore and the children had a great time on the Easter Egg Trail.

Dunster Castle

The gardens were all winding forest walks, with the sound of a stream running through it, with camellia bushes aplenty. I absolutely loved it…

Dunster Castle grounds

Dunster Castle Camellias

Dunster Castle gardens

Dunster Castle grounds 1

The children were happy to stumble upon the natural play area, where the Husband also had to play, of course…

Dunster Castle play area

Dunster Castle play area photos

The castle itself was set up as a Victorian home, though it’s history actually spans a thousand years.

Dunster Castle 1

Dunster Castle inside

Dunster Castle 2

Then we had to do the Easter Egg trail. I like doing these at National Trust sites, and this one didn’t disappoint. With an Alice in Wonderland theme and a hunt taking us through the grounds, it felt magical and as though we were entering a fairy tale world. Every clue was marked by a playing card, and amongst other things, we had ribbons to find, the Cheshire Cat to spot, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to meet and croquet on the lawn…

Dunster Castle Easter Egg Trail

Dunster Castle Easter Egg Trail clues

There’s also Dunster village to meander around and a working water mill to see, so more than enough to keep you busy.

The only problem with it is that it’s a long way from home, so we can’t pop back there again any time soon. It was a lovely family day out.

family at Dunster Castle

The Reading Residence

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

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34 thoughts on “A Day at Dunster Castle”

  1. I think everyone is NT-ign it on #countrykids today! The Easter egg trail looks lots of fun, but I’m not sure about how much a two year old would love it? We might try it tomorrow, seeing as how you’ve shown they look fabulous!

    1. It’s looking that way! My two year old was very happy on it. He just wanted to run round the gardens and then get his chocolate, he wasn’t quite as aware of the clues as his big sister was!

  2. It looks wonderful there and I was surprised by how many flowers were in bloom this week too. Love the Alice in Wonderland area and very cute tweedledum and tweedledee

  3. It looks wonderful there, such a lovely time of year to be going round the National Trust properties with all the spring flowers coming out. I love the mix of black and white photos, it looks like a really relaxing family day. Thank you for sharing with me on Country Kids.

  4. This looks gorgeous – I love National Trust properties, there’s always so much to explore even with little ones, especially with the 50 things activities. An egg hunt is a definite bonus! #countrykids

  5. That sounds like a lovely trail. I noticed Dunster Castle was one of the nearest NT places when we were on holiday, but we just didn’t have time to head over to there. I do love having NT membership though – so much opportunity/excuse to get out and explore/learn something new.

  6. That looks like such a wonderful place to visit with so much to do! We often visit Somerset and I haven’t heard of it before, will have to look it up x

    1. Thank you. Yes, so handy for holidays, and we always make sure we find one nearby to explore while we’re somewhere new.

  7. Lovely pictures Jocelyn! I love the old tree with what looks like a doorway in it! How magical. The grounds look stunning too. Glad you had a good day out.

    xx

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