Photogenic Landscapes and Historic Sites in Somerset

The historical boundaries of Somerset, which today incorporate the unitary authority of North Somerset as well as the traditional county, encompass a good range of landscapes, from the wild uplands of Exmoor National Park to the marshes and fields of the Somerset Levels, and the low coastal plains to the high country of the Quantocks and the Mendips. The levels are generally dead flat but are interrupted by a few small, prominent hills, including Glastonbury Tor and Burrow Mump. Exmoor contains the largest undeveloped areas, though smaller unspoilt regions can be found in the other ranges of hills, the most famous single location being Cheddar Gorge in the Mendips.

Most of the countryside is agricultural, however; apart from the isolated high ground, the most scenic landscapes are found along the coast, which runs from Portishead in the north, at the mouth of the River Avon, to the tall cliffs west of Porlock, bordering Devon. Somerset contains over 50 nature reserves, concentrated in the hilly areas.


The northern reaches of the coast have some short stretches of rocky formations, southwest of Portishead and around Clevedon, while a little further along are two scenic promontories (Brean Down and Sand Point, both managed by the National Trust), either side of the popular resort town of Weston-super-Mare. South of here, the coast is largely sandy, or muddy, bordered by low, grassy land; past Brean, around the mouth of the River Parrett and west towards Hinkley Point, but further west the shoreline becomes steadily rockier and more scenic, lined now by dark, bluish-grey cliffs formed of inclined strata. Notable areas include the coast near Lilstock, Kilve, Quantoxhead and Watchet, though it is west of Minehead that the scenery becomes most dramatic, as the cliffs here rise very steeply up to 1,000 feet, above long stretches of rarely-visited beaches and eroded formations. Minehead to Hurlstone Point is one such (five mile) section, while the next is west of Porlock, extending into Devon.

Somerset contains historic sites from various periods including Neolithic, Saxon, Roman, Norman and later, though no category of site is particularly numerous. Of the over 20 castles that were built in the county, only four are complete or substantially intact; the rest have disappeared. The main prehistoric site is the Stanton Drew Stone Circles, the third largest relic of this type in the country, while the best of the early religious buildings are probably Wells Cathedral, Wells Bishop's Palace, Bath Abbey and the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey.