Ratings

Buggy - largely suitable around the grounds, but some paths have short sections of steps. There are some quite steep sections.*
Carrier - good.
Walking - we walked some of the way with Little One on a wrist strap. There are some steep drops off the paths, and several sections with water, so the strap was important insurance for us.
Toilets - disabled toilets available at entrance to the castle grounds.

Wheelchair - limited access by wheelchairs, an access statement is available here.

*buggies and rear carriers are not allowed in the castle itself.

Things to note

Dunster Castle is a National Trust property. Admission by membership or paying on the day, paying disabled guests can be accompanied by one carer, free of charge.

We love Somerset, and have visited Dunster Castle on several occasions, admittedly normally on drizzly days, so it was a pleasure to visit on a sunny day for once!

Dunster Castle is at the top of the High Street, if approaching by foot, there is a car park within the grounds too if coming by car. As a National Trust property you can gain admission via your annual subscription, or by paying at the gate.

As mentioned we have visited several times, but always made the mistake of taking the easy option, going through the gardens and downhill towards the river and watermill, not realising that by taking the uphill route we would actually be able to go into the grounds and castle itself - how silly did we feel - well, actually we didn't, as it made our visit all the better, like visiting somewhere new! Maybe we can do this more in the future, not explore places properly, so when we go back it feels like we're visiting for the first time.

Being a castle, as if often the case, it is built at the top of a hill, which makes pushing a buggy quite tiresome. Our Little One did get out and walked on his wrist strap. There are some quite steep drops off some of the paths, an unguarded pond in the castle gardens and the River Avill leading to the watermill at the bottom of the grounds. If, like our Little One, your child is a "runner" it would pay to have some means of keeping them in check, whilst getting some exercise. 

Talking of exercise, there is a natural play area in the woods, where kids can try out balance beams and other fun activities.

We did venture into the castle itself, where it should be noted there is no admission for buggies or rear baby carriers. One the day we visited there was a trail for the children to follow, made up of a dozen or so stuffed toy otters! Again, it might not catch everyone's imagination, but it worked for us!

We managed a lovely ice-cream in the grounds before walking back down the hill to our car. It was nice to get a better feel for Dunster Castle and gave us a proper appreciation of this lovely building and grounds.