Recorded in September 2023, Lucy and David were incredibly fortunate to spend some time over tea and cake with Jill and Brenda from Lancashire.

Brenda spent many happy holidays at The Oval in Dunster before Lucy's ownership, when it was used as B&B accommodation..

Brenda's memories date back to the 1950's and 1960's when a friends or family holiday meant a long journey on a coach from Greater Manchester during works holidays.

Imagine the feeling of leaving the coach in Taunton, catching a steam train to Dunster station and walking up the hill into Dunster -  to discover the medieval splendour of the village, overlooked by the magnificent castle and breathing the fresh air blown by warm south westerly breezes.

Dunster was just one part of Brenda's holidays. She enjoyed happy times with her closest friend (Sheila, 1954) in Minehead and loved the happy-go-lucky atmosphere in the town, which hasn't really changed...

Take a listen to the podcast and take a trip down memory lane. We'll also pop some pictures, courtesy of Brenda onto our social media feed to accompany the words.

We very much hope Brenda and Jill return to The Oval, and if you're ever in Goosnagh in Lancashire, pop-in to Jill's chippy in the heart of Goosnagh village - https://www.facebook.com/goosnarghchippy.co.uk

For bookings and reservation enquiries, click over to our website. You'll find the latest availability and very best prices for stays from two nights to two weeks!

With regularly updated blogs, all the latest news from Exmoor and in-depth information about each of our cottages, there's only one place to click!

We have the most fascinating guests at our cottages! Whether it's cricketers, athletes, actors or authors, we've been incredibly fortunate to host a myriad of guests with interesting back stories.

Today's episode stars Ian (Diamond) White, a professional darts player who recently stayed with us during an important tournament in Minehead.

Ian talks candidly to Lucy about his background, the highs and lows of playing darts professionally and his real passion for the sport.

Here's Ian's Wiki entry: Ian White (born 17 August 1970), nicknamed Diamond, is an English professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. White is the winner of 13 PDC ranking events, and has reached many quarter-finals in majors. In 2019, he reached his first major semi final.

You can also watch Ian's NINE DARTER (and many more videos) on Youtube.

We very much hope to hear more about Ian's success at upcoming tournaments  and to meet with him in person during 2024. Play that funky music, Ian!

For bookings and reservation enquiries, click over to our website. You'll find the latest availability and very best prices for stays from two nights to two weeks!

With regularly updated blogs, all the latest news from Exmoor and in-depth information about each of our cottages, there's only one place to click!

In this podcast, Janet Ellis talks about her first book, The Butcher’s Hook, set in the 1700s. This is a frank and touching conversation, during which Janet discusses her drive to write and how she creates her fictional characters.

She shares the pivotal role of a writing course, how she writes, where, and for whom.

We also hear about her moving second novel, ‘How It Was’ set in the present day and the 1970s. Janet loves meeting readers and enjoyed the Dulverton Literary Festival immensely. 

For bookings and reservation enquiries, click over to our website. You'll find the latest availability and very best prices for stays from two nights to two weeks!

With regularly updated blogs, all the latest news from Exmoor and in-depth information about each of our cottages, there's only one place to click!