Things to do in Somerset

Tarr Steps on the River Barle in Exmoor National Park is the finest prehistoric clapper bridge in Britain, an ancient causeway of flat stone slabs laid across stone piers spanning the Barle in seventeen spans with a total length of approximately 55 metres. The bridge dates from at least the medieval period and possibly from the Bronze Age, its construction technique of uncemented flat stones resting on low stone piers reflecting a tradition of river crossing widespread in upland areas before arched masonry bridges were developed. The setting in the wooded valley of the Barle is one of the most beautiful in the national park, the ancient sessile oak woodland clothing the valley sides and the clear brown water flowing over limestone pebbles below. The clapper bridge carries a public footpath and walkers cross the river in both directions, a continuation of use that has taken place over thousands of years. The bridge has been swept away by floods on several occasions and the reconstruction following each event, using as much of the original stone as can be recovered, demonstrates the continuing commitment to this exceptional ancient structure. The Barle Valley walks above and below Tarr Steps provide excellent riverside walking with good opportunities to observe dippers, kingfishers and otters.

Exmoor National Park on the Somerset and Devon border is one of the smallest but most varied of England's national parks, a 693-square-kilometre landscape of high moorland, deeply incised wooded valleys, small farms and villages and a dramatic Atlantic coast that together create one of the finest upland landscapes in the southwest. Designated in 1954, the park combines the openness and wildness of its moorland core with the intimate, sheltered quality of the combes and valleys that cut into it, providing a contrast of landscape characters unusual within such a compact area. The high moorland of Exmoor, particularly the central plateau around Dunkery Beacon which rises to 519 metres as the highest point in the park, has the character of genuine upland wilderness: open, exposed and subject to Atlantic weather that can transform conditions rapidly in any season. The red deer of Exmoor, the largest wild land mammal in Britain, are the most celebrated wildlife of the park and herds of these animals on the open moorland or in the valley woodlands are one of the defining experiences of any Exmoor visit. The Exmoor pony, an ancient native breed of great hardiness, has grazed this moorland for centuries and small herds can be seen across the open ground. The Exmoor coast between Minehead and Combe Martin forms the highest sea cliffs in England, with the Great Hangman reaching 318 metres above the Bristol Channel, and the South West Coast Path traversing this section provides walking of exceptional quality with continuous Atlantic views. The Valley of the Rocks near Lynton, where enormous rock towers punctuate a dry valley running parallel to the coast, is one of the most dramatic geological features in the southwest. The wooded combes running down from the moor to the sea, particularly at Watersmeet, Doone Valley and Horner Wood, provide sheltered walking of quite different character to the open moorland and contain one of the finest surviving stands of temperate rainforest in England.

Montacute House in Somerset is one of the most beautiful and most completely preserved Elizabethan country houses in England, built for Edward Phelips around 1600. The combination of the extraordinary Ham stone facade, the long gallery, the collection of Tudor and Jacobean portraits from the National Portrait Gallery and the formal garden creates one of the National Trust's most satisfying and most completely realised historic house experiences. The facade, built from the warm golden Ham stone of Somerset, is the finest and most accomplished Elizabethan domestic architectural facade in England. Its symmetrical composition of gabled bays, mullioned windows, heraldic carvings and the extraordinary figures of the Nine Worthies above the east porch combines all elements of the mature Elizabethan decorative vocabulary in a single breathtaking composition. The long gallery on the top floor, 52 metres long and the longest surviving Elizabethan long gallery in England, houses the National Portrait Gallery's Tudor and Jacobean portraits in a space whose architectural quality and historical period perfectly match the paintings displayed within it.

The Brean Down Bird Garden, though no longer operating as a traditional bird garden or aviary, occupies a significant place in the area's tourism history. Located near the base of dramatic Brean Down headland, this site was once a popular family attraction showcasing exotic birds in a seaside setting during the late 20th century. The location's proximity to Brean's extensive beaches and Brean Down itself made it a natural stop for exploring families. The site benefited from Brean Down's spectacular backdrop - the limestone promontory rising steeply from the beach creates one of Somerset's most distinctive coastal landmarks. The headland itself, now managed by the National Trust, is a haven for wildlife with breeding seabirds, wildflowers, and insects. Fort ruins at the summit add historical interest. While the bird garden facility is no longer active, the area remains worth visiting for natural attractions. The immediate vicinity offers access to Brean's seven-mile beach and the challenging but rewarding Brean Down walk (90 minutes round trip) with panoramic views across Bristol Channel to Wales. Easily accessed from M5 Junction 22. National Trust car park at Brean Down's base provides the best starting point.

Watchet is a small harbour town on the Somerset coast at the foot of the Quantock Hills, a working port of considerable historical depth and modest visual charm whose combination of the active harbour, the local museum, the connection with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the character of an unfashionable but genuine working coastal community makes it one of the more interesting small destinations on this section of the coast. The harbour was operational from the Saxon period and the town's long history as a port for the Somerset and Bristol Channel trade gives it an economic and historical depth that more obviously picturesque coastal settlements sometimes lack. The connection with Coleridge is the most culturally significant dimension of Watchet's identity. Coleridge is believed to have conceived The Rime of the Ancient Mariner while walking with William Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth in the Quantocks in November 1797, and the mariners departing from a small Somerset harbour that features in the poem has been associated with Watchet since at least the early nineteenth century. A statue of the Ancient Mariner on the harbourside, erected in 2003, commemorates the connection with one of the most celebrated poems in the English language. The Watchet Market House Museum provides an excellent local history of the port and the surrounding Somerset coast, and the West Somerset Railway, one of the longest preserved steam railways in Britain, connects Watchet with Minehead to the west and Bishops Lydeard to the east.

Cheddar Gorge in the Mendip Hills of Somerset is the largest natural gorge in Britain, a dramatic limestone canyon three kilometres long and up to 137 metres deep that was carved by meltwater rivers at the end of the last Ice Age and now constitutes one of the most spectacular natural geological features in the British Isles. The sheer cliff faces rising on both sides of the road that passes through the gorge expose a cross-section of Carboniferous limestone that has been folded, faulted and dissolved over millions of years into the complex rock architecture visible in the gorge walls, and the scale and drama of the canyon makes it a genuinely impressive destination. The gorge contains an extensive cave system developed by the same dissolving groundwater that carved the canyon itself. Cox's Cave and Gough's Cave are both open to visitors, the latter containing the most spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations in the gorge system and the archaeological remains that include the Cheddar Man skeleton, the oldest complete human skeleton found in Britain, dating to approximately 7,150 BC. The discovery of Cheddar Man and the subsequent analysis of his DNA, which revealed that he had dark skin, dark curly hair and blue eyes, attracted considerable public interest when the results were published in 2018. The gorge is managed as a visitor attraction by a private company and the road through it carries a substantial flow of tourist traffic during the summer months, which can reduce the sense of natural drama somewhat. The best walking experience is provided by the clifftop trail, accessible from the gorge floor, that follows the rim of the canyon with views down into the gorge and across the Somerset Levels beyond, a perspective that gives a much better impression of the gorge's true scale than the road below. Cheddar village at the mouth of the gorge gives its name to the most famous cheese in the world, and the Cheddar Cheese dairy provides an opportunity to see traditional cheese-making and taste the local produce.

Brean Down Fort crowns the dramatic limestone promontory jutting into the Bristol Channel. Built in the 1860s during Victorian invasion paranoia, this Palmerston Fort was designed to protect approaches to Bristol from potential French naval attack - a threat that never materialized. The substantial stone fortification clings to exposed headland summit, its magazines, gun emplacements, and defensive walls remarkably well-preserved given over 150 years of exposure to severe coastal weather. The fort's architecture reflects mid-Victorian military design - thick stone walls, sunken gun positions, underground magazines, defensible perimeter. The garrison would have numbered around 50 men, living in spartan conditions on windswept headland. Today, National Trust maintains the site. The fort gained unexpected notoriety in World War I when in July 1900, a massive explosion destroyed part of the fort - one soldier was killed. The fort's setting is spectacular - perched 97 meters above sea on the promontory's highest point, surrounded by sheer drops. Views extend for miles. Accessing the fort requires walking full length of Brean Down from National Trust car park - approximately 1.5 miles one way with challenging 300-foot ascent. Allow 90 minutes minimum round trip.

Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset is one of the most historically significant and most atmospheric monastic ruins in England, the remains of what was once the wealthiest and most prestigious Benedictine abbey in medieval Britain, a house claiming foundations by Joseph of Arimathea himself and the burial of King Arthur and his queen Guinevere, traditions that made it one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Christendom and the focus of a mythology of extraordinary power that persists to the present day. The ruins of the great abbey church and the surviving domestic buildings stand in extensive grounds in the centre of Glastonbury town. The abbey's claim to be the oldest Christian foundation in Britain rested on the tradition that Joseph of Arimathea, who according to the Gospels donated his tomb for Christ's burial, travelled to Britain after the Crucifixion and established the first Christian community at Glastonbury. This tradition cannot be historically verified but was accepted as genuine throughout the medieval period and gave Glastonbury an authority in the English church second only to Canterbury. The discovery of the supposed tomb of Arthur and Guinevere in the abbey grounds in 1191, suspiciously opportune following the destruction of an earlier church by fire in 1184, reinforced the abbey's claims and stimulated a surge of pilgrimage and royal patronage. The ruins of the Lady Chapel, the oldest surviving structure on the site, retain their Romanesque arcading and decorative stonework in a form that gives a powerful impression of the quality of the twelfth-century building before Henry VIII's dissolution destroyed what was then the largest and most elaborate monastic complex in England. The Abbot's Kitchen, a remarkable fourteenth-century octagonal building surviving almost intact, is one of the finest medieval domestic buildings of its type in Britain.

Jacob's Ladder is a dramatic series of 274 steps ascending the cliff face at Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, providing direct access from the gorge floor to the cliff-top plateau above and offering increasingly spectacular views over the gorge and the Somerset levels as the climb progresses. The steps form part of the Cheddar Gorge and Caves visitor complex, one of the most visited natural heritage sites in England, where the spectacular limestone gorge carved by glacial meltwater, the cave systems containing Palaeolithic remains including Cheddar Man, and the cliff-top viewpoints together create an exceptional natural and archaeological destination. From the top of Jacob's Ladder the path leads along the clifftop with vertiginous views directly down into the gorge some 450 feet below, providing one of the most dramatic walking experiences in the English lowlands.

Wookey Hole Caves near Wells in Somerset are a complex of limestone caverns carved by the River Axe in the southern foothills of the Mendip Hills, a cave system of considerable size and geological interest that has been visited as a tourist attraction since the nineteenth century and combines the natural cave formations with a Victorian paper mill and an entertaining collection of seaside and fairground attractions that make it one of the most varied heritage attractions in Somerset. The Witch of Wookey, a stalagmite formation in the first chamber that resembles a crouching figure, provides the legendary dimension to one of the largest publicly accessible cave systems in Britain. The caves were occupied by humans from at least the Iron Age, the bones and artefacts found in the cave deposits providing evidence of use over thousands of years. The excavations of Herbert Balch in the early twentieth century recovered an extraordinary collection of objects from the cave floor deposits, now in the Wells Museum, that illuminate the Iron Age and Romano-British occupation of the caves and their use as a ritual or settlement site over an extended period. The caves are formed in the Carboniferous limestone of the Mendips, the River Axe having carved its course underground through the rock before emerging at the show cave entrance. The underground river still flows through the cave chambers and the combination of the cave geology, the underground river and the stalactite and stalagmite formations provides a complete limestone cave experience of considerable quality.

Brean Sands stretches for seven miles along the Somerset coast, creating one of the longest and most expansive beaches in the UK. This vast expanse of golden sand sits between Weston-super-Mare to the north and Burnham-on-Sea to the south, backed by extensive sand dunes forming an important ecological habitat. The beach has been popular since Victorian times, truly flourishing during the 20th century as caravan parks and holiday centres developed. The sheer scale is its most striking characteristic - at low tide, the beach seems endless. The firm, flat sand has made it popular for sand yachting, kite surfing, and vehicle access is permitted on certain sections. The beach's west-facing aspect provides spectacular sunsets with views to the Welsh coast. The northern end is dominated by Brean Down, a dramatic limestone headland rising steeply from the beach with panoramic coastal views and atmospheric ruins of a Victorian fort at the summit. Access is straightforward via the M5, Junction 22.

Wells Cathedral in Somerset is the smallest city in England's cathedral church, a building of exceptional quality and completeness that represents one of the finest achievements of English Gothic architecture. Construction began around 1175 and progressed steadily through the Early English Gothic style that gives the cathedral its characteristic light, pointed elegance, producing a building that is internally consistent in a way that cathedrals subject to more prolonged and varied construction histories often are not. The result is a building of remarkable harmony and clarity. The west front of Wells Cathedral is the supreme achievement of English medieval sculptural programmes, a screen of around 300 figure sculptures arranged in registers across the full width of the facade in a carefully organised theological programme that once formed the most complete example of medieval figure sculpture in Britain. The figures, ranging from small figures of prophets and angels to large standing apostles and bishops and a central tier of scenes from the New Testament, were originally painted in vivid colours that have long since faded, but the scale and ambition of the programme remain entirely impressive even in their weathered state. A restoration programme has cleaned and conserved the surviving figures and given them the best possible protection against further deterioration. The interior of the cathedral reveals the scissors arches at the crossing, one of the most celebrated and distinctive pieces of architectural engineering in any English medieval building. The pair of inverted arches placed across the eastern crossing to counteract the subsidence of the crossing tower in the fourteenth century created a structural solution of considerable ingenuity that is simultaneously an aesthetic feature of extraordinary visual power, their interlocking X form framing the view toward the quire in a way that draws the eye and holds the attention in ways that purely conventional Gothic architecture rarely achieves. The medieval chapter house, reached by a magnificent spiral staircase from the north transept, is one of the finest in England, its central pillar spreading into a palm of ribs supporting the octagonal vault above.

Simonsbath is a small hamlet at the heart of the Royal Forest of Exmoor, the former hunting forest that forms the ancient core of Exmoor National Park, a settlement of isolated farms and the old hunting lodge that was the seat of authority over this remote area of upland Somerset for centuries. The hamlet stands in the valley of the River Barle at one of the most central points of the moor, surrounded by open moorland and the deep wooded combes that are characteristic of the Exmoor landscape, and provides one of the most genuine encounters with the remote heart of this national park available to visitors. The history of Simonsbath is inseparable from the story of the Royal Forest and its exploitation. The Forest of Exmoor, originally a royal hunting ground, passed through various private ownerships and was purchased in 1818 by John Knight, who attempted to transform the moorland into productive farmland through a programme of enclosure, drainage and lime application that created the pattern of fields and farmsteads visible in parts of the moor today. The Knights' experiment in moorland improvement, while partially successful, demonstrated the limits of the thin moorland soils and the difficulties of farming at this altitude and latitude. The Exmoor red deer, the largest native land mammals in Britain, are at their most accessible around Simonsbath, particularly in the valley of the Barle where the woodland and moorland edge provides ideal habitat. The stag rutting season in October, when the dominant males establish their territories and herd females in encounters of considerable drama, can be observed from the roads and paths around the hamlet.

Porlock Hill is one of the most notorious road climbs in England, a gradient of one in four at its steepest section on the A39 road descending from the Exmoor plateau to the village of Porlock and the sea on the Somerset coast, whose combination of extreme steepness, sharp bends and the possibility of brake failure on a descent has made it a landmark for generations of motorists and a subject of both dread and satisfaction in motoring folklore. The hill descends approximately 400 metres over approximately three kilometres with several hairpin bends on the main road, and a toll road alternative provides an easier gradient for those whose vehicles or nerves cannot manage the main route. The view from the top of Porlock Hill, where the A39 crosses the edge of Exmoor at the characteristic moorland landscape of heather and gorse, is one of the finest coastal viewpoints in Somerset, the Bristol Channel visible below and the Vale of Porlock in the middle ground with Porlock village and its church visible in the valley and the coast extending toward the west. The descent of the hill itself provides a series of changing views of the vale and coast that reward the concentration required to drive safely in conditions where the gradient demands very careful use of gears and brakes. The village of Porlock at the bottom of the hill is one of the most attractive on the Somerset coast, its thatched cottages and medieval church of considerable charm, and the Porlock Weir harbour a short walk west provides a picturesque small harbour with direct access to the pebbly beach of the Exmoor coast. The Exmoor coastal walking from Porlock Weir along the South West Coast Path provides some of the finest cliff walking in the southwest, the English Channel opening toward the west as the path climbs above the shore.

Bossington Beach is a remote and hauntingly beautiful shingle beach located on the north coast of Somerset, within the Exmoor National Park. This dramatic stretch of coastline sits at the foot of the picturesque hamlet of Bossington, nestled between Porlock Bay and Hurlstone Point. The beach forms part of the Holnicote Estate, a vast area of countryside owned and managed by the National Trust, and represents one of the most unspoiled sections of the Bristol Channel coastline. What makes Bossington Beach particularly notable is its wild, elemental character and its position beneath the towering headland of Hurlstone Point, which rises sharply to provide spectacular coastal views across the channel towards Wales. The area has a fascinating geological and historical significance. The beach itself is composed primarily of pebbles and shingle, constantly reshaped by the powerful tides and storms that sweep in from the Bristol Channel. The hamlet of Bossington above the beach dates back centuries and was once a thriving agricultural community. The coastline here has long been shaped by human intervention and natural forces alike, with medieval and later field systems still visible in the landscape. In the late twentieth century, managed retreat policies were implemented along this coast, allowing the sea to reclaim certain areas of previously defended farmland, making this an important site for understanding coastal management and adaptation to climate change. Standing on Bossington Beach is an experience of raw natural beauty and exposure to the elements. The beach stretches in a sweeping curve of grey and ochre shingle, punctuated by larger boulders and occasional driftwood. Behind the beach, a shingle ridge rises, beyond which lie areas of salt marsh and reedbeds that have developed as the sea has been allowed to advance inland. The sound here is dominated by the endless rhythm of waves rolling over stones, creating that distinctive rattling, rushing sound characteristic of shingle beaches. On windy days, which are frequent, the roar of wind and waves can be overwhelming, while on calmer occasions the soundscape includes the calls of wading birds and the distant bleating of sheep on the hills above. The surrounding landscape is quintessentially Exmoor, with steep, wooded hillsides rising sharply behind the coastal strip. The village of Bossington itself is a delightful cluster of thatched cottages and traditional farm buildings, largely owned by the National Trust and remarkably unspoiled by modern development. To the west, the coast path climbs steeply to Hurlstone Point, offering one of the finest coastal walks in Somerset with panoramic views extending to the Welsh coast and across the channel. To the east lies Porlock Bay and the larger village of Porlock, with its medieval church and historic high street. The entire area is rich in wildlife, with the beach and surrounding wetlands providing habitat for numerous bird species, including waders, wildfowl, and occasional rarities blown in from across the Atlantic. Access to Bossington Beach requires a pleasant walk from the village car park, approximately half a mile along a level track that passes through the estate farmland and alongside the reed beds. The National Trust operates a pay-and-display car park in Bossington village, and from there the route to the beach is well signposted. The beach itself is not suitable for swimming due to strong currents, dangerous tides, and the lack of lifeguard facilities, though it remains popular with walkers, photographers, and nature enthusiasts. The South West Coast Path runs along the coast here, making Bossington Beach a natural stopping point for long-distance walkers tackling this challenging section of the trail. The best times to visit are during spring and autumn when the wildlife is most active and the weather is often clearest, though the beach possesses a stark beauty even in winter storms. One of the most fascinating aspects of Bossington Beach is its role as a living laboratory for coastal change and adaptation. Since the 1990s, the National Trust has pursued a policy of allowing natural coastal processes to operate freely here, rather than attempting to hold back the sea with engineering solutions. This has resulted in the deliberate flooding of some former agricultural land, creating new salt marsh and wetland habitats that are now recognized as internationally important. The approach has not been without controversy, as it represents a significant shift in how we manage our coastline, but it has provided valuable lessons about working with nature rather than against it. The area now supports a remarkable diversity of plant and animal life, including rare saltmarsh plants and breeding populations of several bird species. The beach offers solitude and wildness that is increasingly rare on Britain's crowded coastline. Unlike many better-known beaches, Bossington remains relatively quiet even during peak summer months, partly due to its remote location and lack of facilities. There are no cafés, no beach huts, no ice cream vendors—just the elemental encounter between land and sea. This very absence of commercialization is part of its appeal to those seeking authentic natural experiences. The light here can be extraordinary, particularly in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun illuminates the pebbles and the surrounding hills glow with colour. Photographers are drawn to capture the interplay of light on water, the textures of the shingle, and the dramatic backdrop of Hurlstone Point rising into often-cloudy skies.