Dunster

Dunster Station stands in the area known as Dunster Marsh (which sounds more salubrious than the original name of Rotten Row by which it was known before the Railway came). It is a five minute walk to Dunster Beach and along the way walkers may be able to make out the sunken area of land which marks the site of the Medieval Port of Dunster.

The station building may well look familiar to those with a model railway as Hornby produced a 4mm scale model for many years. Opposite it is the goods shed and yard which are now home to the West Somerset Railway's Permanent Way department and houses supplies of track and equipment for maintaining the bridges, stations and buildings on the railway as well as equipment for dealing with over 40 miles of vegetation which needs attention. The goods shed itself is reputed to be haunted.

Dunster village is twenty minutes walk from the station, the latter part being gently uphill. It is worth the exercise. The main feature is the Castle whose oldest parts date from Norman times and which is now in the care of the National Trust. It stands on an outcrop of rock with spacious grounds below (part were once polo grounds and the ponies' horseboxes were unloaded at Dunster Station). Holders of West Somerset Railway tickets can obtain a 25% discount on Admission to the Castle.

The village itself has a medieval Yarn Market which is flanked on either side by shops and tea rooms, which together with several pubs means there is no lack of refreshment available to the traveller. Worth seeking out are the Mill and the Priory Church and at the top of the village the old packhorse bridge which still spans the River Avill. For the energetic a walk up through the woods to Bats Castle (a prehistoric site) is worth it to take in the view of the village and castle below and the more distant views of Minehead and across the Bristol Channel to South Wales.

Dunster's busiest nights of the year fall at the start of

December when the annual 'Dunster by Candlelight' event takes place.On the evenings of the 1st and 2nd of December the village extinguishes most of its electric lights in favour of candles and oil, entertainment takes to the streets and of course the shops and other outlets are open. The West Somerset Railway runs through trains and more information can be found on the Special Events pages.

There is no regular bus service between the Station and the Village but services using a vintage vehicle run on Bank Holiday Sundays and Mondays and also for the Dunster Country Fair and Dunster Show in July and August. Extra Services also operate in connection with some Galas.

Dunster Station has a booking office and sells the full range of West Somerset Railway fares and indeed the tickets for the railway are printed here on a press formerly used by British Railways. For more information about Fares from Dunster please see the Fares Pages. The station has toilets, but no disabled facilities.

Dunster has a thriving promotional organisation and a list of village events throughout the year can be found be clicking the logo below:

For more information about Duster Castle and Mill please click the Logo below: