Awaiting photo
Somerset has a mixture of countryside and
coast. There are long sandy beaches and coastal resorts such as Minehead or
Burnham-on-Sea contrast with the dramatic rocky Exmoor coastline.
Somerset has five ranges of hills:- the Blackdown
Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock
Hills, Polden Hills and
the Brendon Hills - all with their
own special character. The Levels and Moors are the flatlands of Somerset and ideal for the cyclist and lovers of nature.
Somerset’s County Town, Taunton,
is ideal for shopping.
Nestling in the Mendip Hills is Wells, England’s
smallest city with its beautiful
cathedral.
Further south, around Yeovil, you will be delighted by
the tranquil beauty of the stately houses and gardens.
The countryside is never still. In the west is the glory
of the Exmoor National Park straddling the border with Devon and rising
to over 1,700 feet. Coming east there are wide fertile valleys with ranges
of hills such as the Quantock Hills and
Brendon Hills. In the heart is the Vale of Taunton with the historic
county town of Taunton at the centre. South of Taunton are the lost and
wild Blackdown Hills with the imposing
Wellington Memorial standing erect on the sky line.
North to the coast lie Minehead, Burnham-on-Sea and Weston-super-Mare,
the traditional seaside resorts along the Bristol Channel. For a century
after the coming of the railways these were the annual playgrounds for
the workers from Birmingham and the Midlands for whom they were the nearest
coast. Today the resorts have developed new attractions. Somerwest
World is a huge attraction at Minehead and amongst many promenade
features at Weston-super-Mare is a sea life centre.
To the east of Taunton are the 'levels', the low lying
wetlands that were once all swamp and sea, now an area of international
importance for wildlife. To the south of the levels is the area of Ham-Stone,
rich mellow yellow buildings and great houses like Montacute. Further
east, Yeovil, with 40,000 inhabitants, is still the most populous town
in
the main region of Somerset and home to Westland Helicopters. Further
east still to the rolling hills around the hill fort of Cadbury Castle
and associations with King Arthur.
To the north of the levels lies the majestic ridge of the Mendip Hills
rising to over 1,000 feet. Steep gorges are cut into the scarp slope
and there are caves to enter the hills at Cheddar and Wookey Hole. Further
east rising like an island from the levels is Glastonbury. The conical
Qlastonbury Tor, though only 500ft high, dominates the landscape for
many miles around. Glastonbury, with its graceful abbey ruins, its esoteric
culture and colourful shops. Nearby is Street with Clarks Village, the
factory shopping complex visited by millions.
Cinder the steep southern slopes of the Mendips grow strawberries and
vines. Further east is Wells, England's smallest City. The Cathedral
and Vicars Close give this small market town a genteel ecclesiastical
air. Further along the Mendips are Shepton Mallet and Frome, old woollen
towns now bustling with new life.
North of the Mendips is the remnant of the old North Somerset coalfield
in hilly country around Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Here
bluebells add colour to the Mendip Hills
Winter Carnivals in Somerset - wonderful sights and sounds
you run into the southern end of the Cotswolds and the countryside changes
yet again as you approach Bath. Bath, important
as a city of international architectural heritage, has benefitted from
being trapped in the valley of the River Avon. This has enabled it to
retain its largely Georgian appearance along with constant reminders
of its previous Roman incarnation.
Like any whistle stop tour this brief
whisk through the county misses more than it mentions. But the feeling
comes across, whichever way you turn Somerset is a very pleasant place
and there is always something more to discover. Visit any of the Tourist
Information Centres to find out more details of the numerous attractions.
Trains & Transport -Nostalgia
at its best
Perhaps it is because steam trains offer technology with a human face,
perhaps it is the rural idyll of the country station, but for whatever
reason the steam train attracts new enthusiasts with each new generation.
In the west of the county the West
Somerset Railway runs
20 miles from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and is one of the longest preserved
railways in the country. The journey is full of interest with views of
both country and seaside. A shorter, but very attractive, journey is
offered by the East Somerset
Railway near Shepton Mallet in the east
of the county where there is an excellent collection of engines and other
rolling-stock.
Details and time tables of all the railways and transport museums can be obtained from the many Tourist Information Centre throughout
the county.
In point of size it stands seventh on the list of
English counties, having an area of over a million acres, or 1633 square
m. Its population in 1901 was 508,104. It is
one of the few counties which was originally the settlement of a single
tribe, the Somersaetas, from whom it takes its name; and the fact that "Somerset" (like
Dorset) is thus a tribal name is in favour of its dispensing with the
suffix shire, though "Somersetshire" has been in common
use since the time of the "Saxon Chronicle."
The climate is mild and equable, though from its diversified
surface the county experiences some varieties of temperature. The seaboard
is warm, but its considerable southward trend gives it a good Atlantic
frontage, which prevents it from being relaxing. Weston is said to be
ten degrees warmer than London. The breezes on the uplands are bracing
but never searching. The Mendips have been considered a suitable site
for a consumptive sanatorium. The central flats are damp. They lie so
low that in places the coast has to be protected by sea walls, and the
prevalence of large "rhines" or drains makes for humidity.
The sheltered vale of Taunton Dean (for the term cp. Hawthorndean,
Rottingdean) is warm and sunny. The rainfall is abundant, but, except
in the neighbourhood of Exmoor, cannot be said to be excessive.
Danesbrook Water marks the boundary between Somerset and Devon. |
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