12th September 2025 年9月12日

Welcome back to another episode of The View from the Towers in the UK…☺️

👉 I have drunk 3 bottles of very nice Whitby Bay Craft beer 🍺 since arriving here in Somerset. So what should I do with the empty bottles? Without much thought I bring them back to the local shop for recycling. There I am met with a blank look of incomprehension. “Don’t you recycle them at home?” they say. I had forgotten. You can’t bring bottles back to shops in the UK. This is just one example of: It’s a funny feeling being in the UK.

👉 I notice little things. UK instead of GB on the back of cars 🚘, impatient drivers in London, overseeing the fact that I am driving a foreign car. The fact that my 20 pound note is out of date.

A lot of flags. Beers I have never heard of. And of course: I don’t have to use a foreign language to communicate, and people (who are generally very friendly) assume I live here.

👉 But let’s move on……writing as I do rather like H.V. Morton in his 1929 book “In Search of England”. Except that he drove a bull-nosed Morris, and myself a 15 yr-old Audi…..and that “England” has changed beyond recognition – or has it?

👉 Dunster castle is not for purists. Yes, It towers magnificently over the eponymous village, but all is not what it seems. It’s not just a medieval castle. Over the centuries the Luttrell family added to and changed the original structure, culminating their work in the 19th century with a vast comfortable Victorian residence.

From the rooms you get great views…..

In the dining hall the table is set for the Indian polo team, with a place set for the Maharajah of Jodhpur……this is all very British Empire stuff……

While the clock still keeps the time……

You can flaunt yourself on the grand staircase….

…or play a Victorian game…….

Or be grateful you don’t have this plumbing any longer…..

You can visit the horse stables…..(if you like that sort of thing). However there is no muck or smell here…..or horses for that matter….(you’d have thought they would have a token horse🐴 munching hay….?)

(but I loved the cobbled floor……)

The house is all a bit gloomy inside. However, The National Trust are at pains to point out that this is due to the UV filters on the windows – there to protect the fabrics.

To be honest, I found all this heavy emphasis on conservation and preservation a little oppressive at times. It was at moments like this when I was reminded of the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi – 侘び寂び – the beauty of imperfection and impermanence. A world view, an aesthetic and a way of life so distant from Western ideals. Both have their merits, but not when pushed to extremes…

👉 However there is a bright conservatory…….

…and a fun hat and costume room…..

……..and then the gardens. Well that’s a different story: ……..we are at a castle, so why not float into the sky with Laputa?

p.s. I hope they bring this piano in when it rains….

…In the grounds a climbing project had been set up . Needless to say I was happy to remain a spectator…….Not so my tough Japanese companion….

A short walk down the road is the water mill with its picturesque wheels and packhorse bridge…..

which of course led us to the…..

👉 The classic National Trust tea shop. But oh what was this…..? “Sorry the dishwasher is broken” said the girl serving….”we are using disposable cups and plates today….” Now what would H.V.Morton have made of this? The coffee and cake were fine….it’s just that I had had this fantasy of a traditional English afternoon tea….not a McDonalds-type beaker and a cardboard plate……😢 We had charming company though…..

Dunster Castle. Don’t miss it if you are in the South West of England…..https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/dunster-castle-and-watermill

Apart from the castle, the village is a pretty place but not designed for those hulking fat SUVs which people feel the need to drive these days. We had a look into the church with its fine medieval screen……

….somber monuments trying to look permanent despite our impermanent lives….

…..towering arches……

…..and some rather tasteful Victorian stained glass…

Well, that’s all for now. Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

See you またね ☺️

nigelwruddock@gmail.com

The End

🪶

終わり