Posted by Originally posted 10 November 2017
Dear lovelies
You may have read all about our little break in Dunster, West Somerset in last week’s post. Well, the last day of our holiday was so magical I felt it deserved a blog post of it’s own. Let me tell you and show you why…
Day six was our last full day in Dunster and after seeing a leaflet in our holiday cottage, with a very simple and not very detailed map of the walk to the National Trust’s Grabbist Hill, we decided to add this new walk to our repertoire.
It was a clear, sunny day and we set off not quite knowing what to expect. It was a very steep climb and after puffing and panting (me), much chatting about pokemon (our two smallest kiddies) and a little bit of treat munching (all of us!), we reached the top of the hill. We were hugely rewarded for our efforts with the most breathtaking views we have ever seen in Somerset. In fact, we could see right across the Bristol Channel to Wales!
If we had done a little bit of research we would have found out that Grabbist Hill is the site of an iron age hillfort. There was no obvious evidence to us of it being a hillfort as there were no visible structures remaining. However, I believe the shape and the contours of the clearing may be clues. But we didn’t notice these either as we were so taken with the outstanding views. For us, the point of this walk, the reward of walking up the steep slopes to get to Grabbist Hill and the reason we will do the walk again is definitely the views, but next time we will look closer at the ground!
After taking in the beauty of our surroundings near and far, we had renewed energy and excitement so we decided to keep walking in search of more wonder, beyond Grabbist Hill towards the unknown. We found trees showing off their autumn glory, butterflies sunbathing, hills of heather, gorse and grasses and a little bit further along a magical wood waiting to be explored.
We sat on our coats in a bright clearing by this wood to eat our lunch of sandwiches and crisps (mmmmm crisps!), with the sunshine warming our faces and the sound of a bird of prey calling overhead. We had walked far and it felt good to rest and refuel.
After lunch we ventured into the wood and played in the beams of light streaming through the trees, leaping from fallen log to fallen log, collecting forest treasures, spotting brightly coloured fungi (of course jokes were made about a ‘fun guy’!), crunching twigs under foot and marvelling at the softness of the mossy carpeted ground. At one point we even thought we spotted a bear, but ‘we weren’t scared!’.
We eventually and slightly reluctantly left OUR special wood and made our way back down the hill, taking a different path, using Conygar Tower as our point of reference. We didn’t want this day to be over, or our holiday for that matter, but I can honestly say lovelies, that this was one of the best days we have ever spent together. Magical and wondrous indeed!
We brought back home such sweet memories of our little holiday and we carefully and lovingly carried home the foraged forest treasures, which I spent a very enjoyable hour or so teasing into an Autumn wreath.
I cannot wait to go back to Dunster and venture out to Grabbist Hill and beyond again. I wonder what it will look like in the Spring and Summer. Where have you travelled to that you will never forget and that conjures up special memories? I’d love to know!
Have a fabulous weekend and week ahead my loves and take care of yourselves!
Much love to you,
Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lucylu dreams... 