Walk it off walk- Exmoor Walking festival

10 people enjoyed a hearty Dunster breakfast on Friday the 6th May- sampling the best the estate has to offer- care of Nick and Melinda of Townsend Farmhouse B&B (http://www.townsendfarmhouse.co.uk/) before setting off on an 8 mile walk led by Andy Player, Countryside Manager.

The walk took in parts of the estate that visitors don't normally get to, as well as some of the more popular attractions. Views of Exmoor, Dunster and the spectacular west Somerset coastline were enhanced even more by the amazing weather!

The walk was such a success that we will be planning some more Walk it off walks in the future so keep an eye on the events page of the website.

Dunster now has a community orchard!

Around 40 local residents joined Dunster estate staff and parish council members on a cold Thursday 25 November to create a new community orchard as part of The Crown Estate’s UK-wide commitment to plant 3,000 new trees for National Tree Week (November 27 to December 5, 2010).

At Dunster, the estate and community decided to create a traditional orchard. In less than a hour, volunteers including children from Dunster First School, the scouts, members of the parish council, Dunster estate volunteers, representatives from other local community orchards, National Trust, Exmoor National Park, Orchards Live, and members of the general public successfully planted 57 plum and apple trees.

The Crown Estate is very grateful to everyone who turned out and worked so hard to get the job done. This orchard, which is to be maintained by the community, will be a genuine educational asset and I hope that the volunteers today will return in the future bringing others to enjoy “Apple Days” and similar events.

More Recreational Facilities for Dunster Estate Under Discussion

As part of ongoing consultation and discussion, ideas to expand further the recreational facilities on The Crown Estate’s Dunster estate, including a possible designation of the Dunster Forest as a Forest Park, were given an enthusiastic welcome recently by local businesses at Dunster Chamber of Trade.

The Dunster chamber of trade has itself achieved great success in getting Dunster designated as a "walkers are welcome" town, which will highlight to visitors that Dunster and the surrounding land (largely owned by The Crown Estate), is ideally set up for walkers.

The Crown Estate is very keen to work with the local community and other partners to promote economic activity and tourism in Dunster and the surrounding area. To this end we have a number of plans to add to the recreational facilities on offer in the area and to encourage greater numbers of year round visitors to enjoy the landscape, the walks and the varied attractions of the village.

As part of this process we are consulting with various agencies and community groups about the possibility of designating the Dunster Forest as a Forest Park. Further details will follow shortly, and a period of wider public consultation will be announced when these are available, so watch this space!