Tag: somerset

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Treasurer’s House, Martock #50places2026

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage, the second was the Treasurer’s House in Martock.

It’s a thirty mile drive from Nether Stowey to Martock and Waze took me to the back of the church rather than the property. Not sure why, but it did mean I didn’t need to contend with parking on the busy B3165. I walked through the churchyard towards the Treasurer’s House. This National Trust house is on a tenancy, which means that for someone, it is their home. They open the house to National Trust for two afternoons a week over the summer.

Treasurer’s House

Medieval house with Great Hall, completed 1293 – with kitchen added in the 15th century. Solar Block contains an unusual wall-painting.

Current saving £231.30
One adult £5
Parking n/a
Total saving £5
Cumulative saving £332.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £236.30

This is a lovely old building, one of the oldest buildings in Somerset (and the oldest building in Martock). The great hall is very impressive and you can also see the old Tudor kitchens as well. In the house itself there is the solar block which has an original medieval painting upon it which considering that this has been a private home, that it is still there.

A lovely property and a warm welcome from the tenants who provided an in-depth tour of the property with lots of insights.

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Coleridge Cottage #50places2026

There are some properties where you can spend the whole day exploring the house, the gardens and the grounds. Dyrham Park and Tyntesfield come to mind. However the National Trust is not just about big houses and mansions, they also have large areas of countryside and coastal areas. One aspect of their portfolio are smaller houses of interest. So, I had a plan I would three such properties in one day. The first of which was Coleridge Cottage.

I had been meaning to visit this property for a while, I always saw the signs for this when visiting Dunster Castle and Minehead, but never had the time, or it was closed as I came back from Dunster.

So, I planned this visit, the house opened at 11am and the others at 2pm, so it made sense to do this one first. I drove to Nether Stowey, which is on the way from Bridgwater to Minehead. I realised as I drove into the village I had been there before, when one of my children was doing a hike and needed picking up.

Expecting parking to be an issue I parked at one end of the village and walked the five minute walk to the cottage. 

Inside there was a roaring log fire, which was a little surprising as it was nearly thirty degrees outside.

Coleridge Cottage

This atmospheric cottage was home to Coleridge and his family from 1797. It was during his time here in Somerset that Coleridge wrote his finest works, including ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, ‘Kubla Khan’, ‘Frost at Midnight’, ‘Christabel’ and ‘This Lime Tree Bower my Prison’. Working with William Wordsworth on their collection of poetry Lyrical Ballads, it was here in the wild west Somerset landscape that the literary movement of Romanticism was born. Coleridge Cottage has a rich and fascinating history, from a humble Georgian home, to its transformation into ‘Moore’s Coleridge Cottage Inn’ during the Victorian era. Following a major redevelopment project in 2011, you can now explore the wildflower garden, and rooms of the cottage never previously open to the public, which have been recreated as though Coleridge and his young family had just stepped out of the door…

Current saving £221.80
One adult £9.50
Parking n/a
Total saving £9.50
Cumulative saving £327.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £231.30

I spent time exploring the rooms and finding out a lot more about Coleridge and the history of the house. After that I headed out into the small garden.

I did sit for a while, but it was very hot in the sun, so I headed into the tea room for a scone and a drink.

You don’t need long to visit this house, but all the information on Coleridge and the romantic poets was really interesting. The garden was lovely as well. I walked back to my car ready to drive to the next house on the list.

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Montacute House #50places2026

Montacute house

After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025. Having also enjoyed my visits across 2025, I made the decision to renew for 2026. There are quite a few properties that I missed in 2025 which I want to visit.

Montacute House

Montacute is a masterpiece of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design. With its towering walls of glass, glow of ham stone and surrounding garden and parkland, it is a place of beauty and wonder.

Current saving -£71
One adult £15.00
Parking – Free
Total saving £15.00
Cumulative saving £40
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving -£56

Montacute House

I have been to Montacute House before, but I didn’t visit last year. It’s quite local to me, being just over an hour away by car. I had visited Montacute House before in August 2016 and January 2023.

I didn’t go there last year as part of my membership. The main reason was that the upper floors were closed. The staircases had been closed for safety reasons back in August 2023. They are still closed, but the plans to fix them are now in place.

On both the previous visits the upper floors were open and I was able to walk along the magnificent long gallery on the second floor. This photograph was from my 2023 visit.

I am planning to make a return visit later in the year when the staircases are fixed. After visiting Montacute House I did consider visiting one of the other nearby properties, but they were all closed for the winter. When I do visit them later in the year I might make a quick visit to Montacute House and explore the gardens when they’re dry.

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Dunster Castle

Dunster Castle

I made a return visit to Dunster Castle, I had visited Dunster back in March, where I had done an uncovered tour. I have made quite a few visits to Dunster Castle over the years. As a member I don’t pay an entrance fee or the car parking charge

I arrived quite early in the day, so the car park wasn’t too busy and I walked up to the castle. I enjoyed walking around the rooms and afterwards headed to the cafe for a coffee. I then took a stroll through the gardens to the Water Mill.

Dunster Castle

An ancient castle and comfortable country home with dramatic vistas and subtropical gardens

Current saving £217.90
One adult £18.00
Parking £6.50
Total saving £24.50
Cumulative saving £321.10
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £229.90

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Somerset in the sixties

Lovely BFI film about various places in Somerset including Weston-super-Mare.

Obviously. bit dated in places, but it does show off many of the attractions of the seaside resort which now no longer exist.

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Dunster Castle uncovered #50places2025

After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025. 

I have made quite a few visits to Dunster Castle over the years, but this was the first time I had undertaken a guided tour. Though as a member I don’t pay an entrance fee or the car parking charge, I did need to pay the £3 tour cost.

Dunster Castle

An ancient castle and comfortable country home with dramatic vistas and subtropical gardens

Current saving £32.80
One adult £18.00
Parking – £6.50
Tour cost – £3.00
Total saving £21.50
Cumulative saving £145.50
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £54.30

Though not too far from Weston-super-Mare, the route along the A39 from Bridgwater is quite twisty and slow. It takes about 80 minutes to do the 40 mile journey.

The previous day had been quite warm and sunny, so I was a little disappointed by the chill in the air. Having parked the car, I walked to the reception to get my membership card scanned. I was a little early for the tour, but didn’t think I would have time to walk around and enjoy the house. So I went for a coffee in the cafe. 

Having arrived at the entrance of the house I headed in for the uncovered tour.

We didn’t see many different spaces in the house, though all of the tour was interesting. It was interesting for example to hear that the main bedrooms weren’t available to view as the Trust need to protect the ceiling of the dining room which is below these rooms. As a result these rooms are used as offices and meeting rooms. Another challenge in showing off some rooms is access, and another of the main bedrooms was up a narrow staircase, and it would have been difficult to manage access for visitors up and down the staircase. Same issue with the upstairs servants quarters, which are accessed by a narrow spiral staircase. The servants quarters are in the main used for storage of artefacts now.

Following the upstairs rooms, we were led down the stairs to the basement. We then headed through a corridor to the gatehouse, and saw the rooms which had been used by the manager of the Estate when the land around was farmed.

Overall it was an interesting tour and I am glad I made the effort to get to Dunster to see it, I had missed out on the behind closed doors tour at Stourhead.

After the end of the tour I then went around the house following the “normal” route. It was much the same as I remembered from previous visits. One of the rooms I quite like is the modern kitchen that was installed in 1962. There are some great rooms in the house and I enjoyed exploring the house.

Walked around the grounds and then headed into Dunster Village. Did think about going around the house again but decided to leave that for another day. Also thought about walking to the Watermill but wasn’t sure what would be on the lunch menu in the café. So I headed back to my car and went to Minehead to grab some lunch, but that’s a story for another day.

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Barrington Court #50places2025

After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025.

I drove off to Barrington Court, a National Trust property in Somerset. Checking my photographs I realised I had been there twice before, in March 2017 and November 2017. I didn’t write up those visits to the blog.

Barrington Court

An atmospheric fragment of old Somerset; the estate is the vision of Colonel Lyle and his architect James Edwin Forbes. Whilst Court House remains closed for repair, the ground floor of Strode House is open, and there are glorious garden rooms, avenues, and orchards to explore. Installations in the farm buildings tell the stories of key characters and the development of the estate.

Current saving -£91.20

One adult £11.00

Parking free

Total saving £11.00

Cumulative saving £11.00

Membership cost £91.20

Net cumulative saving -£80.20

Obviously I will need to visit some more places to make the membership cost effective and turn that cumulative saving positive.

I think when we went there in 2017 the cafe was in Strode House, but now is near the entrance. In 2017 we did go inside Barrington Court, however this time the house was closed for conservation work. I think that was the reason I didn’t go and see it in 2023 when I last had a National Trust membership.

This year I have planned to visit fifty places.