The Fish House was built for Glastonbury Abbey in the 1330s. It stands in a beautiful position by the site of a long-drained lake (the ‘mere’) on the Somerset Levels. The building’s design shows that it was not meant, as usually claimed, for processing or storing fish, but as a house. As such it is … Read more
A fine, late 15th-century stone town house, with an early Tudor façade and panelled interiors. Now contains a Tourist Information Centre and the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum. Approaching Glastonbury today, it is hard to imagine the town dominated by the great abbey church, once as large as a cathedral; Glastonbury Abbey was one of the … Read more
Muchelney Abbey, which lies 2 miles south of Langport, was once a landmark in the Somerset Levels and still has much to offer its visitors – history lovers in particular will enjoy this fascinating site but there is also plenty for families to do. It was once a wealthy Benedictine house and the second oldest … Read more
Ham Hill Fayre where there will be plenty of opportunities for people to get involved with heritage and countryside at this fantastic Iron Age site. The Ham Hill Fayre offers a fun day out for all the family. From 11am, you can take advantage of the wide range of activities on offer from hands on … Read more
Offering superb views of the South Somerset Moors, Exmoor and the Mendip Hills, Ham Hill has something for everyone. Large wildflower meadows, steeply sloping Iron Age ramparts, a deserted medieval village and historically managed woodlands all offer fantastic opportunities to explore this unique piece of Somerset countryside. This website is designed to give you a … Read more
The River Parrett is one of the main rivers draining the Somerset Levels, or Plain of Sedgemoor. Its source is the green hills on the Dorset and South Somerset border at Chedington, from where it flows northwards to enter the Bristol Channel near Burnham on Sea. The River Parrett Trail is one of England’s beautiful … Read more
Here you can enjoy a newly created wetland, which provides a safe home for many rare species including water voles and otters. In spring the reedbeds are alive with birdsong and in autumn you can see kingfishers flashing up and down the ditches. Bitterns are seen regularly all year round. There is disabled access to … Read more
The fields here used to be arable farmland, but now they are being looked after so that they are ideal for wetland birds and other wildlife. We have put in structures to keep the water levels high and have created miles of new ditches and shallow water-filled gutters, and dug out numerous shallow pools or … Read more
The ancient oaks of Swell Wood are part of a continuous strip of woodland extending some 10 miles (15 km) along the ridge from Langport to the Blackdown Hills. It has the largest colony of breeding grey herons in south-west England – more than 100 pairs and a small number of little egrets nest here. … Read more
West Sedgemoor is part of England’s largest remaining wet meadow system. Set among the Somerset Levels and Moors, it has the largest lowland population of breeding wading birds such as lapwings, snipe, curlew and redshanks in southern England. In winter, the controlled flooding on the wet meadows attracts birds in their thousands – ducks … Read more