DUNSTER by Candlelight celebrated its 30th anniversary last Friday and Saturday with a special event which saw extra entertainment across the village and attracted thousands of visitors.

People came by train on West Somerset Railway and by car and coach – some from as far away as Brighton and North Wales – and the event has now raised £150,000 over the years for St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice.

“It was a stunning atmosphere, it’s really geared at families and there were lots of children involved in good old-fashioned, hands-on fun – everyone very much enjoyed themselves,” said Andy Fay, chairman of the Dunster by Candlelight committee.

There were candlelight processions at 5.30pm on both nights, with lanterns with candles, including children from Dunster First School who made lanterns themselves, and people in costume wound their way through High Street, Church Street and West Street down to Dunster Mill.

Entertainment was extended across the whole village to include West Street as well as High Street, and there was fun and music of every kind.

An estimated 14,000 plus visitors flocked to the village and enjoyed everything from traditional games and a juggler with fiery batons, to Punch and Judy, choirs and Watchet Brass Band, as well as all kinds of food and stalls, while shops did a roaring trade.

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