Exmoor National Park
The endearingly weird Bakelite Museum, 7 miles east of Dunster, houses the nation’s largest collection of Bakelite (otherwise known as polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride), one of the earliest plastics. The highlight of this treasure trove is the full-sized Bakelite coffin – pity the pall-bearers who had to lug that one.
Other Bakelite items on show include radios, letter openers, egg cups, vacuum cleaners, toasters, a full-sized caravan and even false teeth.
27.33 MILES
Topped by the ruined medieval Chapel of St Michael, the iconic hump of Glastonbury Tor is visible for miles around, and provides Somerset with one of its…
29.3 MILES
You could be forgiven for thinking that Caerphilly Castle – with its profusion of towers and crenellations reflected in a duck-filled lake – was a film…
23.3 MILES
There's a medieval keep at its heart, but it's the later additions to Cardiff Castle that really capture the imagination. In Victorian times, extravagant…
23.61 MILES
Devoted mainly to natural history and art, this grand neoclassical building is the centrepiece of the seven institutions dotted around the country that…
St Fagans National History Museum
22.89 MILES
Historic buildings from all over the country have been dismantled and re-erected in the semirural surrounds of St Fagans village, 5 miles west of central…
23.26 MILES
Flanked by the castle and the River Taff, Bute Park was donated to the city along with the castle in 1947. With Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and…
28.71 MILES
The honey-grey Regency manor house of Arlington Court exudes charm, from the model ships and shells collected by the owners, to the produce-packed walled…
29.92 MILES
Wells' gargantuan Gothic cathedral sits plumb in the centre of the city, surrounded by one of the largest cathedral closes in England. It was built in…
1.57 MILES
Most visitors buzz straight past tiny, tumbledown Cleeve Abbey, but it’s one of the best examples of traditional Cistercian architecture in southwest…
5.35 MILES
Most of the original cogs, wheels and grinding stones continue to rotate in this working 18th-century mill. There's a picturesque riverside tearoom…
5.36 MILES
Rosy-hued Dunster Castle crowns a densely wooded hill. Built by the Luttrell family, which once owned much of northern Exmoor, the oldest sections are…
5.47 MILES
Dunster’s beautiful church dates mostly from the 15th century and boasts an intricately carved fan-vaulted rood screen. Just behind the church is a 16th…
7.04 MILES
The steam trains of this vintage railway are a fine way to see the Somerset countryside. The 20-mile route runs from it's base at Minehead to Bishops…
7.37 MILES
The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge moved to this 17th-century cottage with his wife Sara and son Hartley in 1796. It's where he's thought to have composed…
10.35 MILES
The 50-sq-km Holnicote Estate sweeps southeast out of Porlock, taking in a string of impossibly pretty villages. Picturesque Bossington leads to charming…
11.65 MILES
Catch the owl and bird-of-prey flying show (2pm), book your own hour-long private flying session (from £45), or have the kids hitch a half-hour ride on…