Cheddar, Magic, and Beer
We spent 3 full days exploring the Southwest of England by car, specifically in Somerset and Devon. We toured a cheddar cheese factory in Cheddar, explored the ruins of ancient Avalon in Glastonbury, and hiked the Jurassic Coast in Beer. Follow along as we highlight the beauty that is the South West of England!
Our three day getaway from Wales started with picking up our rental car at the Cardiff Airport. We worked up our courage to drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road and headed out on our 3 day road trip. The truth was it was like riding a bike for Eric. He’d last driven in the UK two years ago in Scotland and it came back to him very naturally!
First time driving a car in almost seven months! And on the opposite side!
Cheddar, Somerset
Our first stop was Cheddar in Somerset. Cheddar is a cute, but somewhat touristy village in the Mendip Hills, about 18 miles southwest of Bristol. Unfortunately the nearest train station is about 10 miles away in Weston-super-Mare, so it is best to get here by car. It took us about 90 minutes from Cardiff, and it would be about 3 hours from central London. This is an old village, with evidence of humans living here back to the Neolithic period. There are a few claim to fame for the town of Cheddar that drive tourism today. The first (and most important in our minds) is of course cheese! This is the home of cheddar cheese, and there is evidence that they’ve been making cheese here since the 12th century.
Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company
Our primary focus in Cheddar was doing a tour at the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company. They are the only producers of cheddar cheese in the town of Cheddar today. But prior to World War Two there were over 400 producers! Our VIP Tour lasted around 2 hours and included a tour of the production facilities, a tasting of cheese that is currently aging, and tastings of 6 different cheeses. We learned a lot about the making of cheese, and really appreciated the hand crafted, artisinal apporach they take. All the milk comes from a dairy 1/2 mile down the road and everything they produce is done by hand. The cheese is unpasturized in order to highlight the flavors of the local grasses and clover that the cows munch on during the summer, so everything is aged at least three months. Some of the cheese is aged in the local caves for up to 24 months! They have a great shop where you can purchase their cheese and other local products. You could put together a great picnic there!
Cheddar Gorge and Caves
The other main tourist attraction in Cheddar is the Cheddar Gorge and caves. The north end town itself is at the bottom of the Cheddar Gorge and there is a pretty little stream flowing through town, flanked by tearooms, ice cream shops, and cafes.
In order to tour the caves, you have to purchase tickets through the Cheddar Gorge and Caves company. There are two caves you can tour, Gough’s Cave and Cox’s cave. You also get access to climb Jacob’s Ladder which takes you to the top of the gorge. If you’re not interested in the caves, but just want to hike the gorge, you can do the 3 mile hike for no cost and it takes you to the same Jacob’s Ladder spot at the top. We wanted to see the caves and weren’t up for a hike, so we chose to buy the tickets. This is a family activity for sure, and there were quite a few tourists there. It was really the first heavily touristed place we’ve been in 5 months so we almost had a bit of a culture shock to be surrounded by so many people! Gough’s cave was interesting, and it had a good audio guide included. The claim to fame of Gough’s cave was the discovery of a human skeleton in 1910, which they dated back to 9000 years ago. The skeleton is in the Natural History Museum in London today, but you can see the section of the cave where it was discovered. There are some cool rock formations and stalagtites, and they date the cave formation back to 250,000 years ago!
After we left the cave, we climbed the 300 stairs to get to the top of Jacob’s Ladder. Luckily there were some resting spots along the way! It offers great views of the Somerset countryside.
The Bath Arms Hotel and Pub
We stayed the night at the Bath Arms Hotel and loved it! It is a super cute pub and hotel. We enjoyed some drinks in their sunny beer garden and had a great dinner there including a sticky toffee pudding which we would rank in our top 5 ever!. The rooms were very comfortable and reasonably priced and a full cooked to order breakfast was included the next day. We’d definitely recommend this hotel in Cheddar! We were also able to leave our car there all day while we toured the town which saved us from having to find a paid spot in the public parking lots.
Glastonbury, Cider, and the Greyhound Inn
With full bellies from our full English breakfasts, we headed 30 minutes south to the town of Glastonbury. You might know Glastonbury as the town that hosts the festival where over 150,000 people attend for four days of music and arts. Thankfully for us, that is later in June and we could enjoy relatively small crowds as we toured the city! There are a few things Glastonbury is known for: ancient Christian history and its vibe.
Glastonbury Abbey and Glastonbury Tor
The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey are situated in the middle of town. Day tickets are £12 and well worth it for this thoughtful museum and well preserved grounds. The Abbey dates is origins back to the 7th Century, but like many things in Glastonbury, there are legends and tales that tell a different story. The legends say that Joseph of Arimathea actually founded the first church here in the 1st Century. By the time the Normans conquered England in 1066, Glastonbury was the wealthiest abbey in England. Many of the ruins found here now were build during the Norman period of 1066 - 1400. Another legend tells that the Benedictine monks here “discovered” the remains of King Arthur and his wife Guinevere in 1191, and there is a plaque honoring their graves today. Coincidentally, that discovery lead to a large amount of funding needed to rebuild the church after a fire in 1184. Great marketing right? With the disillusionment of the monestaries by Henry VIII in 1539, the abbey was stripped of its wealth, the land given to the Duke of Somerset, and the buildings were desconstructed so the stone could be used elsewhere. Today, all you see are the ruins of the buildings, with the exception of the Abbot’s Kitchen which survived the fall of the abbey. The grounds and gardens are beautifully preserved and we enjoyed wandering through the paths. They have a lot of interactive activities for all ages, included living history tours with costumed guides.
Glastonbury Tor is a medieval tower located on a 500ft hill east of town. It is about a 15 minute walk from the main part of the village to the start of the path, and it took us about 20 minutes to climb the stairs to the top of the hill. While the current structure is all that remains of a 14th century church, there are deep legends of pagan and christian spiritualism that surround the hill. One legend says that the Holy Grail was brought here in the 1st century by Joseph of Arimathea. Another says that there is a cave underground that leads you to the land of the fairies. Yet a final legend says that this was Avalon, the land where King Arthur went after his last battle. We also know that when the abbeys were disillusioned in 1539, the last abbot was taken here and hung, drawn, and quartered. Beyond all of the legends and stories, the Tor remains a place to see stunning views of the Somerset countryside, all the way to the Bristol Channel, the Cheddar Gorge, and beyond.
The city of Glastonbury definitely has a vibe that reflects the different beliefs and legends from the Abbey and the Tor. The scent of patchouli wafts out of the various shops selling crystals, books on mysticism, witch brooms, and wands. Barefoot street artists perform acoustic guitar, and we even saw someone dressed as a unicorn. We loved our time touring the Abbey, and were amused at the quirky village of Glastonbury for sure!
Sheppy’s Cider Farm and the Greyhound Inn
Leaving Glastonbury, we headed southwest toward the town of Taunton. Just outside of Taunton is Sheppy’s Cider Farm where we had lunch and meandered through the apple orchards. Somerset is cider country and while driving the country lanes we saw several farms offering local cider. We stopped in at Sheppy’s, where they’ve been making cider for six generations since 1816! There is a fanstastic farm shop there, full of local cheeses, picnic fixings, chutneys and jams, and of course, bottled cider. There’s also a great restaurant and cafe. We shared a sandwich and a cider, then headed for a walk through the orchards. It was a great place to stop!
From there, we went to our hotel, The Greyhound Inn. This was truly a country pub, on a single track road in the middle of the Somerset farms. We enjoyed some wine in their garden and a great dinner, with yet another piece of sticky toffee pudding (birthday cake for me!) for dessert.
The Devon Coast
After another tasty full English breakfast, we donned our hiking gear and set off for the Devon coast on the English Channel. This area of coastline is known as the Jurassic Coast, due to the large number of dinosaur fossils discovered here! Very appropriately, our hike started in the town of Beer. Yep, that’s right, we went to both Cheddar and Beer on this weekend wander! The town of Beer was a quintessential English seaside town, complete with cute thatched cottages, pubs, cafes, and a rocky beach.
We did a 5 mile hike leaving from the town of Beer. The first 2 miles was along the coast line and offers stunning views of the English Channel. We even met some lazy cows on our path!
As luck would have it, there was a pub at the half way point! Branscombe has to be the quaintest English village I’ve seen yet. The Mason’s Arms pub dates back to the 1300s. We just stopped in for a pint, but we’ve read that it is known for its excellent food and accommodations. I’d come back and stay in a heartbeat.
After a steep uphill climb and hike through the pastures, we arrived back in Beer where we stopped for a traditional Sunday roast at a local pub. Not our favorite Sunday roast ever, but the view of the Channel made it worth while!
We absolutely loved our weekend exploring Somerset and Devon. We’d highly recommend exploring the winding lanes and charming (and quirky) villages of Cheddar and Glastonbury and walking the Jurassic Coast!