Growing up in Somerset in the 90s, there was something under the radar about this corner of the West Country, overshadowed by the shiny Cotswolds to the north, and the hazy bucket-and-spade nostalgia of Devon further west. Muddy Glastonbury at the end of June could place it for people, or dusty memories of school trips to Bath, but mainly there was a glazing over when you mentioned Somerset: a place of working farms and rolling fields to pass through bound for somewhere else. But then Nick Jones chose the Georgian splendour of Babington House outside Frome as his first rural outpost for Soho House as the millennium loomed; a decade later Catherine Butler and Ahmed Sidki opened the bakery and restaurant At the Chapel in Bruton after a painstaking restoration; and by 2014 the contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth on the edge of Bruton had opened its doors. Somerset was on the map. What began was a rippling effect of hype that has trickled across the county, with creatives and makers lured by the lack of pretension, and the rumble of a laid-back field-to-fork food revolution – something which shows no signs of abating.
What is Somerset known for?
“I am a cider drinker, it soothes all me troubles away” crow Somerset’s band The Wurzels, something of a dictum for locals. Apple orchards dot across the county, and for anyone whose childhood was spent here, cider was the fuel of teenager-hood. But it’s not all eye-wincing adolescent scrumpy. Outside Shepton Mallet, Showerings Cider Mill is redefining it with its triple vintage fine cider, and further south at Alice Temperley’s family’s Burrow Hill Farm, they have been distilling cider into Somerset apple brandy – an ancient West Country craft – since the late 1980s.
What is the most beautiful part of Somerset?
Glimpsing the 13th-century Wells Cathedral from the Vicars’ Close – the oldest intact Medieval street in Europe still used for its original purpose – will stop you in your tracks. Or there’s the spellbinding view of Bath’s honey-coloured crescents from the six-mile circular skyline walk through wildflower meadows. But for otherworldly silence, book a stay in the two-bedroom Craftsman’s Cabin on the edge of the Somerset Levels and watch the morning mist burn off the ruler-straight horizon from the outdoor bathtub.
What is the best time to visit Somerset?
As April makes way for May, the towering hedgerows froth with cow parsley and a smattering of highlighter-pink cosmos; the patchwork fields suddenly alive as if they’ve been doused with water in a magic colouring book. But there’s a buzz to the autumn too: the busyness of harvest and apple pressing (time your visit for The Newt in Somerset’s Apple Day Weekend in October, where the estate’s orchards take centre stage with a festival atmosphere). You can be relaxed about the weather here: around every turn is a low-beamed pub to hunker down in until the skies clear, perhaps with a plate of potted mackerel at the bar of Margot Henderson’s The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe, or bites of gunpowder chicken at the smart The Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton Saint George.
The best things to do in Somerset
Stroll around Bath
Escape the tourist trails around the Roman Baths and instead make a beeline for a warm cinnamon bun at Landrace Bakery on the artsy Walcot Street, dipping in and out of its independent shops. Arm yourself with an oak-smoked salmon bagel from Taylors Bagels for lunch and stock up on hunks of local cheddar in The Fine Cheese Co. Head to Berdoulat on Margaret’s Buildings – sandwiched between the Circus and the Royal Crescent – for founder Patrick Williams and his wife Neri’s pick of artisan kitchenware, cookery books and furniture and dive into nearby gallery and design store 8 Holland Street for more decoration inspiration. A window seat in the Beckford Bottle Shop looking over Jane Austen-worthy Bath is the place to wind up, armed with a glass of Picpoul de Pinet and a trickle of small plates (give the Bath chaps with Bramley apple a try).
Trawl for antiques
For over 20 years The Giant Shepton Flea Market has sprawled across the Royal Bath & West Showground, with dates dotted through the year and now with over 250 stalls for antique magpies to mine. Mark your diary with the Frome Independent too, held on the first Sunday of the month from March to December, with its flea market and maze of stalls selling everything from local cheese and cider to kimchi and ethical jewellery – before climbing the lung-busting Catherine Hill for a sourdough pizza at the Rye Bakery. For time-poor antique hunters, follow Somerset local Isobel Gordon (@origo_house) who’s at the market gates as they open doing the sourcing for you.
Have dinner on a farm
‘Field-to-fork’ is taken seriously in Somerset, with nature’s larder rightfully raided and served up on its doorstep. Overlooking a rolling valley outside Bath, an unassuming agriculture barn is full of 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 its supper club, with ingredients from the kitchen garden cooked in the wood-fired outdoor kitchen; then there’s the 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.
Get your art fix
In once dilapidated farm buildings on the edge of Bruton is the contemporary Hauser & Wirth gallery, with its romantic garden masterminded by the Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, and work from an array of international artists. In the site’s threshing barn, the Roth Bar has opened (artist Oddur Roth, grandson of the late German-born Swiss artist Dieter Roth, was one of the first artists-in-residence here in 2014 when it opened) and is an artwork in itself, made from salvaged materials from nearby reclamation yards. Next door is the 18th-century Durslade Farmhouse, renovated by Argentinian architect Luis Laplace, and available to rent, with its walls lined with artworks from Hauser & Wirth artists – from the mural in the dining room by Guillermo Kuitca to the sitting room’s video installation by Pipilotti Rist.
Order a pint of cider
With a makeshift bar under a block print tent, nestled amongst the orchard, Dick Willows in Claverton Down outside Bath is a masterclass in how to enjoy cider: laid back and to the sound of live music. The smallholding produces its own cider, flowers, pork, eggs and honey, with events throughout the year to celebrate its fare and families descending to savour it.
To watch the making process in action, book a tour at the Temperley’s 250-acre Burrow Hill, walking amongst the orchard and 170-year-old vats in the cider house (best tasted from its Cider Bus parked at Glastonbury Festival each year). Or visit The Newt at Castle Cary for a tasting tour, where 70 varieties of apples are grown on South African hoteliers Koos Bekker and Karen Roos estate. Here’s a place where cider is in the spotlight: a hangover from the 17th century when the estate’s Hadspen House was built, and fine cider was the choice of tipple for smart Somerset gentry.
