Dunster Castle and Gardens, Exmoor, Somerset

With the forecast here full of warnings of severe weather from the tail end of Hurricane Katia, it's nice to revisit a day in June.
Apparently Katia crossed the Atlantic so quickly if retained much of it's power. Most of the destruction is forecast for the north and west.

Here we are walking (not us in the picture) up to Dunster Castle in north Somerset on the edge of Exmoor national park.

There has been a castle here since Norman times, meaning it really has seen it's fair share of treachery, bloodshed and often death, not least during a massive besiegement during the Civil War. The Lutrell family lived at the castle for over 600 years.

We pass the old stables

and make our way through the kitchen gardens with St. George's church in the background where a nunnery and cottage have stood for 550 years. The church is home to the Lutrell tombs and the longest Rood Screen in England. The bells chime a different tune daily on the hours of 1, 5, and 9 and can be heard throughout the village.

However it is the castle with it's beautiful grounds and views that we will concentrate on here

The 13th century gatehouse is the oldest part that still survives

The walk up to the top is circular and steep

but well worth it for the views over the Bristol channel with South Wales on the other side

The castle is home to some incredible leather hangings that portray the famous love story of Anthony and Cleopatra.

The National Trust has looked after the castle and grounds since 1976

The Orangry

With it's interesting shadows

and views in all directions

We continue up and up

and up the narrow stairways until we reach the top turrets

We shall now be walking down and going into Dunster Village for lunch, more walking, before driving to the coast to the seaside town of Minehead which will be covered in  another two posts.

More August Antics

Grandma got to be a real Grandma again last week, the last week before Oliver goes back to school for his full first year
so just a few random shots of some of the fun we had

I was so moved by his thoughtfulness here - he and I had ran a number of races (at Oliver's request of course) over a couple of days and guess what - Grandma came last every time.

On mentioning this to Oliver he said "You can have a head start Grandma and I'll run slower this time" - "I won!"

Another visit to Pilgrims Hall

and the local park

Granddad trying to weed the garden

This is the Pyracantha full of winter berries in mid-August

Never one to miss a brilliant sunset

nor an opportunity for prayer

We were having lunch in one of our larger shopping malls recently when an elderly lady tried to manoeuvre her mobility scooter to a table while her grand daughter was standing out of sight a distance away in the food queue. She suddenly fell to the floor knocking herself very hard against the side of the sofa that we were sitting on. As Alan and several other men ran to pick her up she insisted she would be fine and did not want a fuss made. 

As her grand daughter arrived on the scene I explained what had happened and as the elderly lady was so obviously shaken I asked her if I could pray for her, that she would have no lasting after effects from the nasty fall. 

Yes please she said and afterwards held my face in  both hands kissing me on the cheeks, thanking me and telling me I was an angel. 

I asked her how old she was and she said 92!

Sherborne,Dorset (and an Update)

A quick update for those enquiring

Our car has not been found and the courtesy car was only for 2 weeks. However we are very blessed to have a son who has lent us his car for the moment.

The stress of having our home broken into in the middle of the night while we were asleep and our car, that we had purchased only 3 months ago, stolen almost pales into insignificance when dealing with the insurance company.

They have offered £3,000 less than we paid for it and sent a cheque for £10 to cover personal possessions that were in the car which totalled £228. My mobile phone which was stolen from the house comes under a different insurance so no point claiming for this. Unfortunate that I lost my watch and a camera chip just afterwards too.

I wonder if the thieves have any idea of the affect they have on other people's lives. I can only continue to pray for them.

Thank you to everyone for their loving E-mails and comments. Much appreciated.

Now lets take a trip back to July and revisit an enjoyable walk around Sherborne which we did after our visit to the castle.

Sherborne has an abundance of medieval  buildings, a magnificent Abbey, world famous schools and two castles (last post).

It is a delightful shopping town and has become an important centre for art and antiques. There are also cafes, inns and tearooms aplenty.

Walking through the archway to the Abbey

The Abbey church was once the Cathedral of 26 Saxon Bishops of West Wessex from 705 ad - 1078 ad

Sir Walter Rayleigh worshipped here and the Abbey today is still the home of a vibrant Christian community

The Almshouses were built in 1457 ad and Sherborne School which was originally Monastic in 1550 ad

Views around the Abbey Close

And back into the town

Where like many English old towns it is fun to look through the archways along the main streets

Hope you enjoyed