Glastonbury
Glastonbury Tor rises dramatically from the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels, close to the town of Glastonbury, to a height of 158 metres (525 feet). The Tor is topped by the tower of a ruined 15th-century church (St Michael’s). The hill and its approaches is owned by the National Trust, and offers free public access, but visitors are advised to walk there from the town centre, or to take the ‘Tor Bus’, due to parking restrictions around the site.
Views from the summit are stunning in all directions – north to Wells, the Mendips and the Bristol Channel; east to Shepton Mallet and Wiltshire; south to the Polden Hills, west to the Quantocks and Exmoor.
History, myth and legend surrounds the Tor. Dark Age and Saxon remains excavated here suggested that it was once a Saxon fortress, or perhaps an early Christian hermitage. Alternative conjecture has suggested that the Tor is associated with ‘ley lines’ and various earth energies; it is claimed to be the home of Gwyn ap Nudd, the Lord of the Underworld, and others consider it to be at the centre of a Zodiac pattern formed by surrounding field boundaries.
Must see and do
- Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury
- Glastonbury Tor, Glastonbury
- Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury
- Chalice Well and Gardens, Glastonbury
- Glastonbury Children’s Festival, Abbey Park, Glastonbury (August)
- Peat Moors Centre, Westhay
- Clarkes Village, Street
- Wells Cathedral, Wells
- Illuminated Carnival, Glastonbury
Related Links
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