Unexpected rain awakes us this morning at 6. Zeno has to poo, so Olga and Zeno run to the toilets. There, he’s too excited to go, so we run back. Long story short, Olga and Zeno keep on running up and down through the rain, while Cleo and Tim have a slow morning.
At 8, we decide it’s dry and start our day. We prepare breakfast and shower while we ignore the rain. At 9, we escape the wet campsite to visit Dunster Castle. We arrive at 10 sharp, but the parking is already filled.
Dunster castle is a Norman fortress turned into a family home. The Luttrell Family has lived in the castle since 1405. Over the years, they modernised and expanded the castle. In 1976, the final Luttrell living in the house passed aqay, and the castle was given to the National Trust.
Only the Great Gatehouse and several towers remain of the medieval castle. When we visit the main house, it’s fully decorated in the 17th century style. We see portraits of some of the Luttrell family members and can try the “lazy buttler”, an elevator bringing food from the kitchen to the dinner rooms. There is a knitted knight hunt for the kids, and some dressing up and game rooms.
Luckily it’s mot to busy as it’s big, there’s also a lot to explore outside. We enjoy a tea in the cafe and play the games in the knight court. The kids practice their jousting and swordsplay. We also explore the garden, but we skip the water mill as it’s down hill and we still try to spare Tims achilles.
Zeno buys a book in the book store from his pocket money and we explore part of the medieval village down the hill. Then, it’s lunch time which we enjoy in the car on our way to Lynton & Lynmouth water powered Cliff Railway. We get the final parking spot in a busy seaside village.
There are only three water powered funiculars in the world, and this is the highest and longest. There is short line and it’s a short trip. We walk a zigzag path back down, seeing the train pass back down.
Back down, we visit the tower and museum about the flood in 1952, killing half the village. We pick up our car, passing the Cliff Railway station where there is a massive queue now. Apperantly we were lucky!
Five minutes driving 25% uphill is the Valley of the Rocks, famous for its scenic walking trails. Rugged cliffs rise out of the earth, the turqoise sea provides a nice brease and it’s not too busy. Olga runs up the nearby rock while Tim explores it from above and the kids rest in the car.
Our final stop of the day is Watersmeet, where the Lyn meets the Hoaroak Water. We cannot resist another horeca stop and order a scone to share. Our excuse is the kids never had a scone yet, and we enjoy it together in the romantic garden in the sun.
The rivers run through an oasis forest, full of small waterfalls, just like the one on our campsite (the river from our campsite also ends up here). The kids play in the water while the parents enjoy the scenery.
We’re back at the campsite at 17, eat couscous and put the kids to bed early. Olga goes for a recommended walk along the river, 5KM return.
