Somerset

The very name of the county is its best introduction, preserving the name of its Saxon settlers as does the quiet town of Somerton, from where King Ine once ruled the Kingdom of Wessex. Somerset is a county of history, tradition and legend with many attractions for its visitor - the last battle fought on English soil was at Sedgemoor on the Somerset Levels in 1685. On these same Somerset Levels some eight centuries earlier, King Alfred took refuge from the Danes. Early Christian traditions centre on Glastonbury where the serene abbey ruins and Chalice Well are places of pilgrimage for many. The surrounding Vale of Avalon is linked with Arthurian myth and legend. Once among the largest towns in the country, nearby Wells can claim to be the smallest city in England. It owes its fame to its magnificent cathedral and its unusual moated Bishop's Palace.

'Small is beautiful' can also be said of Exmoor, in the north west of the county. Smallest of England's National Parks, it has few equals in terms of its varied landscape - heather covered moorland, fast flowing streams and wooded vales. Both Exmoor and the neighbouring Quantock Hills meet the sea in North Somerset where the dramatic coastline affords spectacular views across the Bristol Channel to Wales.

Somerset's 'jewel in the crown' is perhaps the city of Bath. Founded in Roman times, it is best known for its Roman Baths and elegant Georgian architecture. A new spa - Thermae Bath Spa - is dueto open in 2004. The city was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Select a location: A Axbridge B Bath Bruton C Castle Cary Chard Cheddar Crewkerne D Dunster E Exmoor Ebbor Gorge F Frome G Glastonbury L Langport M Mendip Hills Minehead Montacute (N.T.) P Porlock S Shepton Mallet Somerton T Taunton W Wells Weston-super-Mare Wincanton Y Yeovil	Royal Crescent, Bath
	Porlock
	East Quantoxhead
	Bishops's Palace, Wells
	Hill Ponies, The Quantocks

2004 Hideaways
Reservations: 01747 828170 Fax: 01747 829090 Email: enq@hideaways.co.uk