Worth getting out of bed for
We guide you through the best activities in Northeast Somerset, from antiques shopping in Frome to hot-air ballooning over Westonbirt Arboretum. For more hotels and activities in Bath, see our Bath destination guide.
- Viewpoint
- Beloved of druids and folklorists, the mystical Glastonbury Tor offers wonderful 360-degree views of the lush surrounding countryside from its summit.
- Arts and culture
- Though many think its major cultural contribution was foisting the Wurzels upon the world, Somerset has a vibrant arts scene. Choirs have been hitting the high notes in Wells Cathedral (www.wellscathedral.org.uk) for more than 800 years, and the town’s choristers are regarded as being among the world’s best. Folk music is also huge in the area – many pubs double as live-music venues. Bath’s attractions aren’t limited to baths, museums and Jane Austen worship (www.visitbath.co.uk): top bands regularly play the Moles club, and the city hosts an excellent fringe festival (www.bathfringe.co.uk).
- Something for nothing
- There are plenty of gorgeous walks to be had for free, but if you want more bang for your imaginary buck, walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen with a downloadable audio tour of Bath. Taking in the Assembly Rooms, the Royal Crescent and Gravel Walk, a spot featured in Persuasion, the guide also includes the Thermae Bath Spa, where Austen’s brother eased his gout (http://visitbath.co.uk/janeausten).
- Shopping
- In the west Mendips, the market town of Shepton Mallet is still a good place to browse and buy: Friday is market day. Moneyed Bath is not short of stylish shops, but if you’re after something a little more quirky, the Bath Sweet Shop (+44 (0)1225 428040) is the place to stock up on aniseed balls and sherbert pips. Though nearby Taunton is Somerset’s most fertile antiques-hunting centre, Frome’s antiques shops are worth a look, too: seek out Valentine Antiques (+44 (0)1373 453233) and Past Perfect (+44 (0)1373 453342). Take your ethical shopping bag along to one of Somerset’s farmers’ markets (www.sfmdirect.co.uk/markets); Midsomer Norton’s is held on the first Saturday of every month, and there are interesting shops and browse-friendly boutiques to nose around.
- Daytripper
- Bristol, dominated by Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge, is within easy reach of anywhere in Somerset. Head to the city’s rejuvenated waterfront, where cafés rub shoulders with cultural landmarks such as contemporary arts gallery Arnolfini (www.arnolfini.org.uk), and the Watershed Media Centre (www.watershed.co.uk).
- Perfect Picnic
- Your hard-boiled eggs will taste all the better after a climb to the top of Cheddar Gorge or, if you’re in Bath, head for the Parade Gardens for riverside mooching. Entry is £1, and for that you’re given a stripy deckchair and your own patch of grass. Concerts are held there throughout summer (www.visitbath.co.uk).
- Walks
- Ebor Gorge offers an undulating walk in the Mendips. Start with a fortifying half in Priddy’s creeper-clad stone pub the Queen Vic (+44 (0)1749 676385), then set off south; after a couple of miles, a car park marks the start of the circuit with views over the Somerset Levels. A 10-minute drive from Cheddar is Velvet Bottom (no sniggering, please), a nature reserve with billiard-table-smooth grass. There are a number of attractive routes in and around Shepton Mallet, too, including one that takes in the Fosse Way; see www.sheptonmallet.org for details.
- Children
- There’s a fairy garden and a valley of the dinosaurs, not to mention spectacular underground caverns, at Wookey Hole (www.wookey.co.uk) near Wells. If that doesn’t cover all junior bases, then we don’t know what does. Got tickets for Glastonbury? Under-12s can come free (and be left in the superb kids’ area, while you go off to drink cider and watch Billy Bragg). Or treat them to a special children’s ghost walk, £50 a group, with Ghost Walks of Bath (www.ghostwalksofbath.co.uk).
- Activities
- While away a day or five watching the Somerset cricket side (www.somersetcountycc.co.uk). Satisfy your thirst for adventure by hacking to a watering hole on a pub ride with Knight’s Equestrian (www.knightsequestrian.co.uk). Compleat anglers can get their partners hooked on the sport at the five lakes of Bullock Farm (www.bullockfarm.co.uk). If that backfires, make it up to them with a Bailey Balloons (+44 (0)1275 375300) trip from a launch site at Thornbury or Bath: a champagne flight over Westonbirt Arboretum is particularly magical on a crisp autumn morning. For more activities in Bath, see our Bath destination guide.
- And...
- Laugh if you must, but many people – OK, mainly those who like rainbow knitwear and Peruvian hats – swear that you will boost your psychic energy and wellbeing if you stand on the leyline that cuts through the Vale of Avalon.
Diary
February/March The Bath Literature Festival brings a glittering roll call of novelists to the city, emptying the coffee shops of Hampstead (www.bathlitfest.org.uk). June Mudlarks and music fans gather for the glorious Glastonbury Festival (www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk). August Put together by Glastonbury supremo Michael Eavis, the Glastonbury Abbey Musical Extravaganza is an annual series of classical-to-classic-rock concerts (www.glastonburyextravaganza.com). Get the insider lowdown on Glastonbury and other UK events online at Smith 52: The Game Plan, our European events guide, or click here to buy the book.October The Mendip Food and Drink Festival attracts county-wide producers (www.mendipfoodfestival.co.uk). November The touring West Country Carnival features parades of floats that even Liberace would find ostentatious; it’s Somerset’s way of marking Bonfire Night (www.westcountrynow.com). December Bath Christmas Market sees more than 100 stalls set up between Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths. Mulled wine is compulsory (www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk).