As neither of us could face the final 'Big Top' celebration at Spring Harvest, we took it easier on the final morning and decided to potter around the village of Dunster for an hour before heading home. The village itself reminded us of Bourton-on-the-Water, or other small Cotswolds villages, particularly with its ancient stone market 'circle'.
The place is overshadowed by its Castle, and we saw that it had some gardens, so we decided to pay up (National Trust) to wander round them briefly. The sun came and went, and I kept busy trying different features of my newish camera on the many great views, and some of the plants and trees. Martha then had the great idea of making a day of it, and so we gathered some more clothes, our books and a drink, and wandered around more slowly, stopping to read in the sun from time to time. For lunch we wandered to the character-ful Luttrell Arms, named after the family who owned the Castle.
"Gardens" makes it sound too formal; it was more like well-constructed walks amongst the steeply sloping grounds around the castle. The best parts were along the River Avill, with old bridges, fast flowing streams, ferns, massive bamboos, and the rather ugly gunnera plants. (Or 'gonorrhea' plants as one of the estate workers first named them. Which is possibly why I landed up calling the various camelias 'chlamydias' :o )
There's a mill by the river, and it wasn't open as we walked past, so instead we had an expensive cream tea at the place next door. And then drove home, hitting the rain as we entered Gloucestershire.