As a child growing up in Somerset in the nineties, this part of the West Country was overlooked in favor of the glittering Cotswolds to the north and the vague bucket-and-spade memories of Devon to the west. There was a glazing over when you said Somerset, a region of working farms and rolling fields to travel through heading for someplace else, but mostly there was muddied Glastonbury at the end of June that might put it for people, or dusty recollections of school vacations to Bath. However, as the millennium approached, Nick Jones selected the Georgian splendour of Babington House outside of Frome as his first rural outpost for Soho House; ten years later, following a laborious restoration, Catherine Butler and Ahmed Sidki opened the bakery and restaurant At the Chapel in Bruton; and by 2014, the contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth on the Bruton edge had reopened. The map showed Somerset. The result was a cascade of excitement that spread across the whole county, drawing in creatives and makers with the allure of a casual, field-to-fork food revolution that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
For what is Somerset renowned?
A kind of local motto, “I am a cider drinker, it soothes all me troubles away,” is said by Somerset’s band The Wurzels. The country is dotted with apple orchards, and for many who grew up here, cider was the fuel of adolescence. It’s not all eye-catching teenage scrumpy, either. At Showerings Cider Mill outside Shepton Mallet, their triple vintage excellent cider is redefining the area, while since the late 1980s, the Temperley family’s Burrow Hill Farm in the south has been distilling cider into Somerset apple brandy, a historic skill of the West Country.
What area of Somerset is the most picturesque?
You will be stopped cold when you get a glimpse of the Wells Cathedral, which dates back to the 13th century, from the Vicars’ Close, the oldest preserved medieval roadway in Europe still in use for its intended function. Alternatively, there’s the captivating six-mile round skyline walk through wildflower meadows that offers a breathtaking perspective of Bath’s honey-colored crescents. On the edge of the Somerset Levels, however, reserve a stay in the two-bedroom Craftsman’s Cabin and enjoy the outside bathtub while watching the morning mist burn off the perfectly straight horizon.
Which season is ideal for traveling to Somerset?
As April gives way to May, the patchwork fields come to life as if they have been soaked with water in a magical coloring book, and the tall hedgerows froth with cow parsley and a scattering of highlighter-pink cosmos. The hecticness of harvest and apple pressing adds a spark to fall, however; plan your visit around The Newt in Somerset’s Apple Day Weekend in October, when the estate’s orchards take center stage with a festive vibe. This is a place where you can be carefree about the weather because everywhere you look there is a low-beamed pub to hide out in until the skies clear. You could enjoy some gunpowder chicken at The Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton Saint George or a plate of potted mackerel at Margot Henderson’s The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe.
The top activities in Somerset
Wander about the bathroom
Instead of following the tourist routes around the Roman Baths, go straight for a warm cinnamon bun at Landrace Bakery and meander among the small stores on stylish Walcot Street. For lunch, get an oak-smoked salmon bagel from Taylors Bagels and fill up at The Fine Cheese Co. with chunks of regional cheese. For the selection of handmade cookware, cookbooks, and furnishings, creator Patrick Williams and his wife Neri suggest visiting Berdoulat on Margaret’s Buildings, which is tucked between the Circus and the Royal Crescent. For further decorating ideas, visit the adjacent gallery and design business, 8 Holland Street. With a glass of Picpoul de Pinet and a few small plates (try the Bath men with Bramley apples), a window seat at the Beckford Bottle Shop overlooking Jane Austen-worthy Bath is the ideal spot to wind down.
Look for vintage items.
With dates scattered throughout the year and more than 250 booths for vintage magpies to peruse, The Giant Shepton Flea Market has been strewn over the Royal Bath & West Showground for more than 20 years. Before ascending the lung-busting Catherine Hill for a sourdough pizza at the Rye Bakery, make sure to mark your calendar for the Frome Independent too. It is held on the first Sunday of every month from March to December and features a flea market and a labyrinth of stalls selling everything from local cheese and cider to kimchi and ethical jewelry. If you’re pressed for time and want to source antiques, follow Somerset-based Isobel Gordon (@origo_house), who is at the market gates as soon as they open.
Enjoy your meal on a farm.
In Somerset, the idea of “field-to-fork” is taken seriously, with nature’s larder being appropriately plundered and served out right on its doorstep. There are farm feasts at chef Tom Godber-Ford Moore’s Pennard Hill Farm (think rabbit croquettes and fig leaf panna cotta), as well as supper clubs and cooking classes at the self-sufficient homestead Mello View near Chard, with views over the Axe Valley. An unassuming agriculture barn sits overlooking a rolling valley outside Bath, and inside it are tables humming over plates of wild garlic and carrot fritters at Castle Farm. An hour south at Horrell & Horrell, festoon lights hang over the cow barns for their supper club.
Satisfy your need for art.
The modern Hauser & Wirth gallery, located among once run-down farm buildings on the Bruton edge, has a lovely garden designed by Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf and features pieces by a wide range of international artists. The Roth Bar, which is an artwork in and of itself, has opened in the site’s threshing barn. Artist Oddur Roth, a grandson of the late German-born Swiss artist Dieter Roth, was one of the first artists-in-residence here in 2014 when it debuted. The bar’s components were recovered from neighboring reclamation yards. The 18th-century Durslade Farmhouse, next door, was refurbished by Argentinean architect Luis Laplace and is for rent. Hauser & Wirth artists’ works adorn its walls, ranging from Guillermo Kuitca’s painting in the dining room to Pipilotti Rist’s video display in the sitting room.
Get a pint of cider please.
Dick Willows, on Claverton Down, near Bath, is a masterclass in cider enjoyment, with a makeshift bar under a block print tent hidden amid the orchard, all while enjoying live music. Families come here to enjoy the smallholding’s products, which includes cider, flowers, pigs, eggs, and honey. Events are held there all year long to honor the food.
Schedule a tour of Temperley’s 250-acre Burrow Hill to observe the making process in action. You can stroll through the orchard and taste the cider from 170-year-old vats in the cider house, which is best sampled from its Cider Bus, which is parked at the Glastonbury Festival every year. Alternatively, take a sampling tour at The Newt at Castle Cary, where the estate of South African hoteliers Koos Bekker and Karen Roos grows seventy different types of apples. Here’s a site where cider takes center stage: Hadspen House, the estate’s flagship residence, was constructed in the 17th century, when sophisticated Somerset aristocracy like to sip good cider.
