Dunster Dunster Haven, at the mouth of the River Avill, yet today the coast having receded is now about from the village and no sign of the harbour can be seen on the low lying marshes between the village and the coast. Dunster has a range of heritage sites and cultural attractions which combine with the castle to make it a popular tourist destination with many visitors arriving on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway running from Minehad to Bishops Lydeard. The village lies on the route of the Macmillan Way West, Somerset Way and Celtic Way Exmoor Option. The
Dunster Castle and Colonel Robert Blake led a Parliamentary force against Dunster in October. In November Blake began his siege of the castle, setting up his artillery in Dunster village and starting to dig tunnels to plant mines beneath the walls. The castle was briefly relieved by reinforcements in February 1646, but the siege was resumed and by April the Royalists situation was untenable – an honourable surrender was negotiated and a Parliamentary garrison installed. After the end of the Second English Civil War in 1649, however, Parliament decided to deliberately destroy, or slight, the defences of castles in key Royalist areas,