Dunster Castle is the historical home of the Luttrell family located in the small town of Dunster, Somerset, England (grid reference SS991434). Colonel Sir Walter Luttrell gave Dunster Castle and the greater part of its contents to the National Trust in 1976. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.

There has been a castle at the top of the hill at Dunster for more than 1000 years. The Domesday Book records one on this location before 1066.

The castle was granted by William the Conqueror to William de Mohun, whose family lived there until the castle was sold in 1376 by Lady Joan de Mohun to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell. Lady Elizabeth’s descendants owned Dunster Castle until 1976.

The Castle dominates a steep hill overlooking the picturesque village of Dunster. The hill has been fortified since Saxon times, although nothing now remains of these early defences. During the early medieval period the sea reached the base of the hill offering a natural defence, and strong walls, towers, ramparts and outworks protected the other sides.

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A series of country lanes winding through the heart of the English county of Somerset lead to the village of Ashbrittle. This small village holds an ancient treasure in its churchyard: a 3000 year old example of the English Yew, Taxus baccata. The tree was mature when Stonehenge was in use, making the 15th century church near where it grows a youngster in comparison. As a plaque near the tree declares, “Generations of local people have cherished this tree, one of the oldest living things in Britain.”

It is impossible for a visitor to the Church of St. John the Baptist to miss the Ashbrittle Yew. With a girth of 40 feet and a vast canopy that arches over you as you approach it, the tree invites you to stop and gaze upon its lichen-covered branches, many of which nearly touch the ground, and its ancient, gnarled trunks cushioned by the lush mound of vegetation from which they grow. The tree has a hollow central trunk, with six smaller ones surrounding it. This distinctive form may have arisen long ago as the tree repaired itself after damage or infection in its original trunk.

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Burnham-on-Sea is a town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett and Bridgwater Bay. Burnham remained a small village until the late 18th century, but is now a popular seaside resort as well as the home of the shortest pier in Great Britain. It forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 18,401.

Burnham-on-Sea is notable for its beach and mudflats, the danger they pose to individuals and shipping, and the efforts locals have gone to defend their town and to prevent loss of life. The Bristol Channel has the second highest tidal range in the world. The extensive mud flats at Burnham are characteristic of Bridgwater Bay and the rest of the Bristol Channel where the tide can recede for over 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Over the years a string of people have died when they became trapped in mud and were overcome by the rapidly rising waters. One of the earliest recorded historical incidents to affect the town was the Bristol Channel floods of 1607. Today the town is defended from flooding by a large curved concrete wall that runs along the Esplanade.

Burnham-on-Sea railway station was the terminus of the Burnham branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The former GWR station is now known as Highbridge and Burnham.

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Clevedon Court is a manor house in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early fourteenth century. It is now owned by the National Trust. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.

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