Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Scrumpy Country
The West Country, and especially Som-
erset, is celebrated for its
strong apple
ciders,
known locally as “scrumpy,”
best sampled at smaller producers that
use traditional methods. Note that
unlike North American ciders, British
cider is alcoholic (scrumpy tends to
be 7-8% alcohol).
W
Hecks Traditional Farmhouse Cider,
9-11 Middle Leigh, Street
(
&
01458/442367;
www.hecksfarm
housecider.co.uk), has been making
cider since 1840 in the middle of the
town of Street. In summer it's open
Monday to Saturday 9am to 5:30pm
and Sunday 10am to 12:30pm. In win-
ter it's open Monday to Saturday 9am
to 5pm and Sunday 10am to noon.
W
Perry's Cider
(
&
01460/55195;
www.
perryscider.co.uk), Dowlish Wake,
south of Ilminster (see website for
directions), is a rustic farm and cider
shop. It's open Monday to Friday 9am
to 5:30pm, Saturday 9:30am to
4:30pm, and Sunday 10am to 1pm.
W
Sheppy's Cider
(
&
01823/461848;
www.sheppyscider.com), just off the
A38, 3 miles south of Taunton at Three
Bridges, Bradford-on-Tone (M5 junction
26), has been making fine cider here
since 1917. In addition to their farm
shop, you'll find a small
rural life
museum
(£2 adults, £1.50 children). It's
open Monday to Saturday 8:30am to
6pm (tearoom 10am-4pm); also Sunday
11am to 4pm in July and August.
W
Somerset Brandy Co.,
Pass Vale
Farm, Burrow Hill, Kingsbury Episcopi
(01460/240782;
www.ciderbrandy.co.
uk), is a 150-year-old family cider farm
specializing in
cider brandy.
It's open
Monday to Saturday 9am to 5:30pm.
W
Glastonbury Abbey
also makes cider
(p. 358).
8
1868-72. The Luttrell family owned the castle between 1376 and 1976, when it was
given to the National Trust together with 12 hectares (30 acres) of surrounding park-
land. The wonderfully preserved rooms inside blend Jacobean and Victorian features,
including elaborate plasterwork ceilings, wood paneling, and paintings in the
entrance halls. The King Charles Bedroom is said to be the most haunted room in the
castle (future Charles II slept here in 1645). Save time for the gardens and their
lemon trees and unusual “strawberry trees.”
The village of
Dunster
itself has an ancient priory church and dovecote, a 17th-
century gabled yarn market, water mill, and little cobbled streets dotted with white-
washed cottages.
Dunster, on the A396 (just off the A39).
&
01643/823-0004.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk. Admission
to castle and grounds £8.50 adults, £4.10 children 5-13, £20 family ticket; grounds only £4.70 adults,
£2.10 children, £12 family ticket. Castle Mar-Oct Fri-Wed 11am-5pm; closed Nov-Feb. Grounds Jan-
early Mar and Nov-Dec daily 11am-4pm; mid-Mar-Oct daily 10am-5pm; closed Jan-Feb. Bus: 398
Minehead to Tiverton.
EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK
Some of the most witheringly beautiful landscapes in western England lie within
Exmoor National Park
(
&
01398/323665;
www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk), an
unspoiled plateau of misty moors, wild ponies and herds of red deer on the Somerset
and Devon borders. One of the smallest but most cherished National Parks in Britain,
it includes the wooded valleys of the rivers Exe and Barle, the Brendon Hills, a
sweeping stretch of rocky coastline, and such sleepy but charming villages as
