Wander with Us

We've recently returned from a little mini-break weekend away, spending two nights in Devon. We stayed at a Holiday Inn in Taunton, which was lovely as it had a nice lounge restaurant with small kids play area, and use of the pool at the YouFit next door.

Whenever we take weekend breaks, we base our journeys on where we can explore nearby and what the National Trust has in the area, so, over the course of the two days, we visited three lovely properties:

Dyrham Park

A large country house set among acres of deer park, the house itself is accessed via a rather steep downhill, though there is a shuttle service there and back if needed. There's beautiful grounds to play in, the ubiquitous book store, gift shop, and cafe, and a gorgeous chapel adjoining the house.

We'd stopped at Dyrham Park on our way as the weather was truly appalling, and we needed somewhere to escape the rain, so we lasted out the worst of the weather in the house itself, where Oli loved poking about the corridors, and spotting animals in the tapestries - our favourite was when we spotted what we thought was a deer, though it looked a bit like a hare, then we were told it was a squirrel!

Knightshayes Court

A Victorian country house near Tiverton, and quite possibly one of the most beautiful places we've visited.

Aside from stunning views and gardens that were lovely even in the winter, the house itself is wonderful to poke about in - and the pianist in the Grand Hall took our request which was magical as we sat in the light filtering through the stained glass window.

Dunster Castle

This was another fantastic find. Olivia was getting a bit cranky by this point but perked up as we went ghost-spotting all over the castle! Once again the views from the turrets were incredible out across the estuary, and we enjoyed exploring from the highest tower to the dungeons!

The medieval village around the castle was so picturesque, and we'd have loved more time to explore but after a short walk we were all ready to head off and find a bite to eat.

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This part of the UK is one I haven't spent too much time in and I'd love to return to discover more amazing places.