The pretty village named one of the UK’s best hidden gems that Americans seem to love

As the UK’s capital city, it’s no surprise that London attracts around 30 million visitors from around the world each year. But tourists on the hunt for a quintessentially English village – complete with cobbled streets, mediaeval cottages, castles and hilly terrains – will have to venture out a little further.

And it appears as though one village offering all the charm you’d expect to find in the Cotswolds has been a huge hit with friends from across the pond, as it has captured the hearts of American visitors.

Dunster, in Somerset, England, is a village and civil parish tucked away in the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park’s rolling hills – making it a very picturesque and peaceful holiday destination. Despite its beauty, Dunster doesn’t welcome that many overseas visitors as Exmoor National Park is the least visited of all Britain’s national parks.

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There’s still plenty to see in the quaint village, so much so that it was voted one of the UK’s best hidden gems by Country Living. Dunster Castle, which dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period and sits on a steep hill called the Tor, is the town’s key attraction.

The castle has since been converted into a comfy country home but still has a number of interior highlights, including a 17th-century staircase intricately carved with images depicting hunting scenes, as well as Dutch leather wall hangings depicting the story of Anthony and Cleopatra. Tickets to visit Dunster Castle cost £11.60 for adults and £5.80 for children.

The castle’s surrounding gardens are also well worth visiting. Included in the ticket price, you can explore an oval lawn, bosky areas by the river Avill, towering sequoia trees and giant rhubarb. If you walk along the riverside path, you’ll find a working watermill where you can purchase wholemeal flour made on-site.

Every August, the village hosts the ‘Dunster Show’ – an agricultural event held in the picturesque castle’s grounds, with a range of entertainment, including cattle and sheep parades and ferret racing.

If you want to travel down the unbeaten path, there’s plenty of walking trails in the surrounding woods and moorlands, or you can simply walk along the town centre admiring the charming mediaeval architecture and fail tail village feel.

How to get there

If you’re travelling by train from London, there’s a few Great Western Rail services you can catch from Paddington to get to Taunton – a nearby area just one bus journey away from Dunster. A standard single fare journey from Paddington to Taunton costs around £50. Once you arrive at Taunton station, you can hop on a number 28 bus on the Quantock Line going towards Minehead. Within an hour, you’ll arrive in Dunster.

By car, the journey is slightly longer, taking around 3 hours and 40 minutes via the M4 from London.

Hotels, apartments and B&B’s in Dunster are all reasonably priced, with the average top-rated stay costing around £80-£120 per night for two people. It’s recommended to book a hotel that’s close to the city centre, so that you have easy access all of the village’s attractions.

See more accommodation options on Booking.com and Hotels.com . You can book UK and European trains – including cheap Eurostar tickets – on Trainline.

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