Somerset - Land of Cider, Cheese and tales of Ancient Avalon

For "breathtaking" scenery, go no further than Cheddar Gorge, visit the cathedral city of Wells, see Glastonbury, the famed and legendary site of ancient Avalon, the fantastic rock formations of Wookey Hole, and the myriad small villages, tucked away along narrow lanes that dig deep into the Mendips.

For a stunning country garden walk, visit Stourhead, designed by Capability Brown. Then there are The Lions of Longleat (along with the stately home) and Rode Bird Gardens near Frome, where you can see fowl from five continents.

See the orchards, boughs straining beneath the weight of their fruit that will become fiery cider after processing in ancient presses, and last but not least, visit the local people, as friendly as they come, assuming, of course, that you can understand the thick, sing-a-long "Zummerzet" brogue that they converse in!

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Somerset is a broad county, but with huge areas of field and farmland between the well-scattered communities, so a car is essential to see the main towns and "city" of Wells. Cycling is definitely an option for the fitter visitor, although the terrain tends to be undulating at best and downright steep at worst. Some of the larger towns offer cycle hires at reasonable daily rates. Bus services are sparse, except between the larger towns of Weston, Yeovil, Wells, Glastonbury, Taunton, and Bridgwater, and a change of bus is inevitable, should you decide to go from one end of the county to the other. Towns such as Glastonbury and Wells feature their own "medieval trails" that are well-marked for the visitor to follow around the towns.

The Glastonbury Festival has become one of the premier festivals on the music calendar, held every year for the last 30 years or so.

The "Glastonbury" festival is actually something of a misnomer; the site at Worthy Farm, owned by the festival organiser and farmer, Michael Eavis, is in the village of Pilton, situated just a couple of miles south of Shepton Mallet on the main route through to Glastonbury. Festival season sees the village invaded by music lovers from all corners of the globe and has increased in size over the years to entertain well over 100,000 people in 2004.

The festival does have its critics, not least of all the residents of Pilton, who see their village transformed for a week: lanes are blocked to prevent illegal parking, pubs and shops fill with music lovers, and there are the inevitable problems that are always going to occur when a population of 100,000 invades a tiny community. But, of course, the vast, vast majority of people are just there for the music and trouble rarely raises its head.

The guest list at Glastonbury over the years is like the definitive list of musical talent from the era, and Michael Eavis has often featured up-and-coming bands in an attempt to bring their music to a wider audience as well as launch their careers. In 2003 the "new hope" was The Darkness and look where they are now!

For the rest of the year, Worthy Farm is just that, a working arable and livestock holding, but come summer, the farm takes on its secondary (some would say primary) role of hosting the world's largest organised music festival.

Glastonbury is a beautifully preserved medieval town, with its roots buried deep in myth and legend. The belief is that beneath the 14th-century tower on the Tor lies a spring in which Joseph of Arimathea buried the chalice used at the Last Supper. Furthermore, Joseph reputedly thrust his thorn staff into the ground on a nearby hill, and it took root to produce the Glastonbury winter-flowering thorn tree. Finally, he is said to have built a wattle-and-daub church on the site where the Abbey now stands, where he made the first conversions to Christianity in Britain.

Regarding the Avalon legend, it is said that in circa 688 AD, King Ine of Wessex built a monastery to rival the size of Wells cathedral, and that this became the richest and most beautiful example in the land. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere were supposedly buried here, hence the Knights of the Round Table connection.

Fine ecclesiastical buildings within the town include, of course, the ruined Abbey, along with its original gatehouse, the church of St. John the Baptist, the 13th-century St. Mary's Chapel, and two rows of tiny almshouses which originally operated as a hospital for the poor.

Such are the historical delights of this place that I deemed it necessary to require a second entry for Glastonbury to cover fully the remaining sights.

On Glastonbury's main shooping street, you will see the "Tribunal". This building dates from the 15th century and was basically where justice (or not, as the case may have been) was meted out to the local population. Above the door are two carvings, the first a Tudor Rose and, alongside it, the badge of Abbot Beer, a local magistrate who died in 1524.

Just along the road is the splendid "George and Pilgrim" Hotel, again of 15th-century construction and reputedly subject to nightly hauntings! If you stride up the the top end of the street here, you will catch views of Glastonbury Tor. The pathway to the top starts at the junction of Chilkwall Street and Wellhouse Lane and provides a stiff climb to the summit, although in summer a bus will take the strain for the princely sum of 50p. Closeby are the Chalice Well and Weary-All Hill, where St Joseph of Arimathea "planted" his staff. As mentioned, this took root until, in the English Civil War, it was allegedly hacked down by a Roundhead soldier who succeeded in removing his own leg in the process!

Finally, back in the town, make sure to see St. John's church in the High Street, with its tower dating from 1475. It is said to contain a tomb that, legend has it, once contained the body of Joseph of Arimathea and also features some stunning 15th-century stained glass windows.

To list every delight of this lovely old town would be virtually impossible, but I hope that I've given a guide to the "best-of-the-best" that will serve to give the visitor a feel for its historical importance.

Frome (pronounced Froom)is at the eastern edges of the county and is a thriving market town full of medieval charms, most of which are hidden away, up alleyways and back streets. The town was once a horrendous bottleneck of traffic forcing its way down to Devon and Cornwall, until the bypass opened several years ago to relieve the congestion somewhat. Today it is rather quiet, except on market days, when the place fills to capacity with both merchants and buyers.

Frome has one of the most extensive old cobbled areas in Somerset, including the quaint Cheap Street, with its open water course flowing through the middle of the pavement and Gentle Street, dating from the 7th century and originally paved with stone setts. At the top of Gentle Street is a now-long-closed-up public house which retains its name, "The Waggon and Horses", above the front door. From here, the London-bound carriages would depart regularly for what must've been a long and uncomfortable journey for its fare-paying passengers. St. Aldheim reputedly trod these steps, and it existed as a Saxon look-out post for the ancient town, due to its lofted position.

Other worthwhile sights include the nearby church of St. John the Baptist, with its elaborately restored Victorian interior. Outside, it dates from circa 1150 and was under construction right up until 1450, thus presenting both Saxon and Norman architecture, as well as English medieval influences.

Like its neighbour Frome, Shepton is a thriving market and agricultural town. It hosts the annual Bath and West Show at the enormous showgrounds just to the south of the town, which regularly attracts in excess of 150,000 people over its three-day run.

One of its most stunning architectural pieces has to be the old stone viaduct that once carried the railway out of the town northwards towards Bath and Bristol. This has been preserved in its entirety and is best viewed from the Mendip Pathway that runs across the meadow immediately behind it. Shepton also grew prosperous from its wool trade, although this has now been replaced by more modern industries, such as brewing and the manufacture of leather products.

It has an imposing market cross and a superb parish church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The pedestrianised High Street features many old pubs, including The Bell, and few visitors realise that tucked away, surrounded by a warren of stone-walled alleyways, is Shepton Gaol, which still houses some of the UK's worst offenders. Indeed, a local lady who stopped to talk to me divulged that in the fifties and sixties, Mr. Pierrepoint, the country's official hangman, would regularly travel to the town to perform his unpleasant duties within the gaol, which also boasts that "no one has ever succeeded in escaping". It is a grim, Victorian building, oddly situated though, right in the middle of the town.

Finally, just across the roundabout in the middle of the town, you will see a grand old building, several stories high, that again, my knowledgeable local lady informed me used to be a brewery. The place is rather dilapidated now, but by all accounts, English Heritage are seriously considering preserving and renovating the site.

Cheddar Gorge is positioned right on the edge of the Mendip Hills and has been formed over millions of years by the water-based erosion of the local limestone to form this stunning, huge natural gash in the Somerset countryside. The towering cliffs rise to almost 500 feet above the valley floor, and in the 12th century, Henry of Huntingdon acknowledged it as "a wonder of England".

The erosion has been effected by the River Yeo, which now flows beneath the area and is one of England's largest subterranean waterways. The relentless action of water has formed massive caves beneath the ground, containing wonderful rock formations, as well as stalactites and stalagmites, some displaying vivid colours due the ferric and cupric content of the water. Along with Wookey Hole, situated just a couple of miles along the road, these are the most visited caves in Europe, and in the summer months, Cheddar is clogged with tour coaches and holidaymakers alike.

Cheddar is, of course, equally famous for its cheese. It is traditionally a hard cheese with variable flavours, ranging from mild to full-strength depending upon its method of production. Colourwise, it can range from almost white to dark yellow, although the more favoured "farmhouse" varieties tend to be of a mid-yellow hue. The cheese is traditionally drum-shaped and cloth-wrapped to ensure a hard rind. It can be matured for anything up to three years to produce a powerful taste sensation. Its name was never licensed, and as such, it is now possible to buy "Canadian", "Scottish", and "Irish" cheddars, although cheese purists would never recognise these as the real McCoy.

Cheddar's (and Somerset's in general) other contribution to gastronomic pleasure is cider, although not the relatively mild product available in supermarkets and off-licenses. No, this stuff is known as "scrumpy" and quite commonly has an alcoholic content of anywhere between seven and ten percent, so handle with care! It is dry, somewhat sweet, and is traditionally sold in flagons holding either four or eight pints. Many of the orchards in Somerset provide apples for this product, and you will often see a sign as you pass by a farm offering its own scrumpy at very reasonable prices.

The ESR is a privately owned company specialising in providing rail trips for steam enthusiasts. Somerset was at one time criss-crossed with rural and main-line routes, but these days, most have fallen into disuse due to government cutbacks and lack of both passenger use and funding.

The ESR acquired a length of track running from Cranmore towards the once-important railway town of Shepton Mallet. Indeed, Shepton's old station, set in a picturesque setting, is now the offices and warehouse for a cleaning company, although it retains many of its old features.

The society has raised funds over the years to buy in many cases virtually derelict locomotives and rolling stock from British Rail, which are then lovingly restored to their former glory to run on the short piece of track. Cranmore Station has also been sympathetically renovated to include ticket offices, waiting rooms, and the all-important signal box.

As Somerset tends to be a seasonal county, the society tends not to organise outings during the autumn and winter months, due to the lack of visitors, but have regular "steam days" in the summer, where you can simply enjoy the sights and smells of old steam engines or hop aboard for a run down to Shepton Mallet.

Authentic rolling stock is also part of the plan, and although I don't as such profess to be a railway enthusiast, I can fully understand the attraction of rattling down the tracks with steam and smoke from the engine flying past the windows.

To find the ESR, head towards Shepton Mallet from Frome on the A361 and look out for the turning on the left, just before the village of Doulting.