Motoring Holidays
Down in Somerset
WITHIN five-and-twenty miles of Blagdon, up in the Mendips, you can reach almost every point in Somerset worth visiting. Its situation is one of the most delightful in England. At the Point of Blackdown, close by, which is over 1,000 feet high, you are able to sec the " Severn Sea," the mountains of Wales, hazy Bristol, and, to the south, Cheddar Gorge and Wells Cathedral. As a centre it cannot be bettered, though later in the year visitors are obliged to seek other head- quarters owing to its sparse hotel accommodation.
To the motorist coming from the east the location of the village becomes a problem, as it lies far away from any main road. From Bath it can be reached by going south to Bad- stock and here taking the right-hand road through Farrington Gurney towards Wells. About four miles along this road there is a turning (to the right) which takes you part of the remaining distance. Where it meets the Bristol-Wells road you turn again to the right for a mile or so, and there branch off towards Churchill. Blagdon is to be found half-way.
In the valley below is an artificial lake, two miles long and
three-quarters of a mile at its widest, which provides Bristol with its water supply. It conforms, however, to the natural shape of the valley and is well known for its fishing. Close at hand is Burrington Combe, a miniature Cheddar Gorge. This has a cleft, known as the " Rock of Ages," which inspired a former curate of Blagdon to write the famous hymn. So delightful is the scenery of the Mendips, so interesting the ancient towns of Somerset, and so varied its coast-line that almost every part of the county is worth seeing. Tours will obviously suggest themselves in so small a district. At no distance south lies Cheddar, famous for its stalactite caverns and achieving still further fame as a recuperative resort, Nothing in England can compare with Cheddar Gorge, an enormous chasm, over a mile in length, with a winding road overhung by gigantic masses of rock. " Lion Hock," which is the highest, reaches to 500 feet above the roadway. The neatly planned city of Wells is only a few miles to the south- east of Cheddar and should be seen, if only for the glorious West Front of its Cathedral. There arc nine tiers of sculpture, including three hundred figures. The Cathedral dates front 1135 A.D.
The next town of interest on the run southwards is Glaston- bury and its famous Abbey. A conspicuous landmark for many miles around is Glastonbury Tor, rising 520 feet above sea-level. The restored tower of St. Michael's (impel at the summit marks the spot where the last Abbot of Glastonbury and two of the brethren were brutally done to death for declining to surrender the Abbey to Henry Time permitting, this tour may be continued to Shepton Mallet and Frome by an excellent road, then to the left front here on to Radstock, where the route originally taken front the east will be joined.
Many of the intermediate villages are very ancient and will repay exploration, and when you have done sufficient sight- seeing you may journey quite easily to the seaside resorts of Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare for a change. Burnham-on- Sea does not offer the attractions of' its two rivals, but it owns one of the most magnificent golf courses in the country.
C. A. R.
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