Glastonbury is an historic town in the beautiful county of Somerset. You only have to walk down the high street to know you are in a spiritual place; there are lots of bookshops with books on all sort of spiritual subjects and how to live in harmony with nature, and crystal shops and of course lots of cafes and restaurants (mostly all have good vegetarian options as well)
Right in the middle of Glastonbury is the Abbey, where King Arthur and his Guinevere are buried, or so they say. It dates back to the 8th century and was a thriving monk community until 1184 when a great fire destroyed most of the buildings. Set in Acres of parkland, it is well worth a visit and bring a picnic on sunny days. The abbey is the venue for concerts in the summer with popular bands and singers and occasionally they have a classical evening as well
Another popular attraction in Glastonbury is the famous Glastonbury Tor, but you have to be fit, as it is a big hill and at the top is the restored church tower from the 14th century.
The so called pilgrims path goes from well house lane and is a fair uphill walk, and the most popular route to the Tor. While you’re there drink in the atmosphere and views of the Somerset countryside which on a clear day are truly magnificent.
One attraction you should not miss is a visit to the Chalice Gardens and Well. It is a quite place to find some peace away from the hurley burley of modern life. The Gardens house 2 springs, one called the red spring and one called the white spring. The red spring gets its colour from percolating through iron rich minerals and these give the water its red appearance, indeed you can see the red spring in the gardens and where it flows it leaves a red residue.
The white spring flows through limestone and is beautifully clear and fresh tasting. Indeed you can take away some red or white water with you from Well House lane next to the gardens where there are 2 taps, one for red and one for white, and people come from miles around to get it for themselves.
When you have had your fill of walking and spirituality you could get some retail therapy at the nearby Clarks village.
Started as a factory outlet for the famous shoe brand, Clarks, it now boasts several famous name stores like Marks and Spencers, Next, Nike, Sony and Timberland to name but a few. With lots of restaurants and coffee bars you could spend the whole day there: it even has a mock castle for the kids to play on. Open every day with late night shopping Thursdays.
CAssandra has visited Glastonbury often and is a big fan of Glastonbury England
