She Said:
Last night, we ate dinner in the Pub downstairs, a fantastic warren of higgledy-piggledy rooms - Watch Your Step; Mind Your Head. It was comfortably packed with a perfect mix of locals and guests. Felt quite normal to sidle up to the bar, happily wait our turn to order, and belong!
And, the Fish & Chips were so good.
Easy to see why The Luttrell Arms was voted the Best Inn in Somerset for 2015.
Even though we switched our day off (today instead of tomorrow as today was supposed to be a wash-out and we didn't want to be walking 10 miles in steady, all day rain), we did want to get out there for some sort of a more local walk.
It did rain on us, off and on, most of the day.
No matter, still a great day.
Though it did take us a while to actually walk out of town.
The light rain had a painterly effect on the plants, especially the flowers. Their colors were so saturated without direct sunshine on them. And, since you can't swing a dead cat in Dunster without hitting a thatched-roof cottage, with blooming roses and/or other flowering vines climbing up the walls, and with a blooming country garden attached, well, we were photography fools. Then, when we had almost escaped, there was the church. Saint George's, medieval, with its own blooming garden.
Saint George's -
Pre-Luttrell! The de Mohun family was given the land after the Norman Conquest by William I. He gave a parcel to the Bishop and Monks of Bath and they set up a (satellite) monastery here. By the 1400's, the Luttrell's were pretty ensconced in Dunster (farms, castle) and this is reflected in the many stone effigies over the buried remains in the church of generations of Luttrell's.
A remarkable thing (to me) in many of these very old churches, is the existence of the original, wood beamed ceilings. So hard to believe these beams have lasted so long.
And the Dovecote. Medieval - 13c, 14c. Part of the monastic estate of the Benedictine Priory. Inside, a revolving ladder (a Potence) allowed the Dovecote keeper to search all 501 (!) nest holes more easily.
Mainly, Dovecotes provided the privileged with squab (baby doves) to eat or full-grown doves in winter if the harvests were sparse or the hunting was off one day.
Next door, the Tithe Barn, another village mainstay.
1090.
10% of all crops, livestock, orchards, and gardens, from every villager, went into the Tithe Barn for the Lord (probably de Mohun, then later, Luttrell).
Finally, a walk on up to the Deer Park. Red Deer are the largest animals in Britain, and the nearby Deer Park supposedly has a very good-sized herd.
We took a very narrow, vague path through thick woods. A bit of a bushwhack. Steep. Probably not the right path. But soon we were walking up through the thick woods AND blooming rhododendrons. A very unexpected treat.
We saw only a few red deer running away from us through the woods.
Sigh.
Back down by an easier route.
We found another trail and set out, back up a different hill. Misty, atmospheric views back towards Dunster Castle and the village.
Two red deer running! Yay!
Then, the really big pay off - a field of horses with their brand new baby colts. Some still so new, they were laying down and only getting up for a few minutes at a time. Very vigilant moms and dads keeping (kicking!) non-relative horses away. So wonderful in the mist.
And, in the same field, just a bit farther along, that herd of red deer. 20 - 30, reclining, ears up (they heard us right away).
Quite a sight. R took many pictures, so I'll let his photos do most of the talking.
We were mesmerized, though. The wildness of the deer right next to the family life of the horses. Sensory overload!
Well worth a walk in the rain.
The rain is pretty steady now, but we are warm and comfy in our room.
Tomorrow, sunshine!
And a 10 mile walk.
Total Miles:
4.88 miles (Dunster; The Deer Park)
Total Flights Climbed:
35
He said:
Well this was supposed to be a very wet day, it was damp, but not what I would call 'very wet', at least down here in Dunster (just above sea level). So, we decided to spend the day looking around the Dunster area, putting off our planned 10 mile walk across the moors until tomorrow. We found a new, quiet back street that parallels the main street. Along the quiet street called Priory Green, we found many colorful gardens in full bloom even in the wet conditions. And, of course, there were many thatched cottages of different sizes and colors. I guess those thatched roofs really work, they are very thick, but I wonder how long they last. Then we found the large dovecote, built to shelter doves, although it does not now. Across the street was the very old St George Parish Church with the inside ceiling made up of large oak timbers from the 1500's.
After the main village ran out, we walked towards the main stream, over the small packhorse bridge, and out into the large open space that includes the deer park. Our planned path started with a steep ascent of the Aller Hill. The path had not been recently maintained, there were many fallen trees, and muddy pools, and general clutter. I was not even sure it was a real path other than the single signpost at the bottom of the hill, there were no other signs that this was intended as a trail. Rhododendrons were many and in full bloom filling in the spces between the downed trees. We crossed rough road that looked like they were made by loggers... again no trail signs. After avoiding several large downed trees and making a large detour, we ran into a fire road, known here as a bridleway for foot and horseback riders. Seeing no continuation of the narrow path we had been following, we turned onto the bridleway thinking it would eventually take us back towards the village.... and it did.
We decided to take another path back at the bottom of the hill, this took us towards Carhampton. It is along this track that we saw the horses and deer hanging out in the light rain. It was a very pastoral scene. We were not able to get too close to the wild deer herd (red deer) because they were easily spooked. All in all, a very fine day as we headed back to have a very late lunch.
Around Dunster
Inside the Dovecote
St George Church
Egg Shell Wreath
The Packhorse Bridge
Open Space
In the Pub the previous evening
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