Somerset has a wide selection of things to do, with the open spaces of Exmoor National Park and the Somerset levels, a beautiful and varied coastline, caves at Wookey Hole and many historical places of interest and beautiful gardens.
Finding the right Somerset day out for your family is easy – simply explore the links below, hit the jump to my location button or use the search at the top of the page to plan your next Somerset activity.
- The Yarn Market in Dunster a 17th Century timber framed octagonal market hall was once the centre of Exmoor’s cloth and wool industry.
- A 14th-century fish house at Meare was once the abode of Glastonbury Abbey fishermen, who fished the, now drained, Meare Pool. Meare is a marshland village, standing on the site of pre-historic lake. The site of the Meare Lake Village is marked by groups of mounds.
- The Theatre Royal is Bath’s premier theatre venue located in the heart of the city. At over 200 years old, the theatre is one of the most important outside of London and has a capacity seating of 900 people. In addition to the grade II listed main theatre building, there are two smaller studio theatres, the Ustinov theatre and the egg. Across the three auditoria, the Theatre Royal runs a year round programme of events and entertainment for all ages.
- The Fleet Air Arm Museum comprises four large halls. Each hall has ground floor and upper levels telling the stories of naval aviation from the first manned kites towed behind naval vessels, to helium filled airships, seaplanes, bi planes and the carrier borne aircraft of WW2 and modern Sea Harriers and helicopters.
- Weston-super-Mare lifeboat station was established in 1882 and operates two inshore lifeboats. Station is generally not open to the public due to the state of Birnbeck Pier. Shop is open daily Easter to October.
- Lytes Cary Manor, Somerset manor house with Arts and Crafts-style garden. Originally the family home of Henry Lyte, where he translated the unique Niewe Herball book on herbal remedies. The manor is managed by the National Trust.
- Montacute House is an Elizabethan (1588-1601) Ham-stone house noted for its tapestries, 16th/17th Century furniture, and Tudor and Jacobean portraits. The house was one of the first to be buit without fortifications but purely as a house to show off. The house stands in 120ha (300 acres) of gardens and park.
- Portishead Point Lighthouse is also known as Battery Point Lighthouse after Battery Point where it stands. The lighthouse was built in 1930’s and is a black metal pyramid on a concrete base with a height of 9 meters (30 feet).
- The Bath Postal Museum is located in central Bath in Somerset. Founded in 1979 by Audrey and Harold Swindells, the museum collection is now housed in the basement of the post office building in Northgate Street. On display to visitors are artefacts from the history of the postal service from the 1700s to the present day. Open throughout the year, the museum has a small admission fee.
- Birnbeck Pier is unusual in that it links the mainland with Birnbeck Island, a 1.2 hectares (12,000 m2) rocky island. The pier has been closed to the public since 1994. The grade II* listed pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867. The gothic toll house and pierhead buildings were designed by local architect Hans Price. The main pier is 1,150 feet (351 m) long and 20 feet (6 m) wide. As it has abutments at either end, one on the mainland and one on Birnbeck Island. The construction is more like a bridge than other traditional pleasure piers. A landing jetty extended on the west side of the island to allow steamers to bring day trippers to Weston-super-Mare from ports on both the English and Welsh side of the Bristol Channel. The pier opened on 6 June 1867, Cecil Hugh Pigot-Smyth again being the host of the ceremony, the town taking a holiday and holding a banquet in the Town Hall. The toll to walk on the pier was 1d, but this was quickly raised to 2d, the maximum allowed by Act of Parliament; 120,000 people paid the toll in the first three months. A new wooden northern jetty was added in 1872 which allowed the removal of the original western landing place. Another jetty was added on the south west corner in 1898 which reached deep water even at low tide, thus allowing steamers to use the pier at all states of the tide. This was damaged in a gale in 1903, rebuilt in 1909 but closed in 1916. It was finally removed in 1923. The northern jetty had also been damaged in the 1903 storm but was replaced by the present steel structure in 1905. Article taken from wikipedia.
- Wells Cathedral is a cathedral for the Church of England, situated in Wells in Somerset. The present cathedral building dates between 1175 and 1490 and is modest in size. The cathedral’s central tower dominates the small city of Wells and is a significant landmark in the surrounding area. Wells Cathedral is a very good example of Gothic church architecture from the late 12th/early 13th centuries. Unlike many other cathedrals in England, there are several associated church buildings which have survived in tact. The home of the bishop, the Bishop’s Palace is worth visiting, as is Vicar’s Close, a 15th century residential street. The cathedral is open to the public all year and welcomes donations from visitors.
- Burnham-on-Sea lifeboat station been around since the first lifeboat around 1836.