Somerset - Valley of the kings

North Curry is an excellent base from which to explore the county and Glastonbury makes for a lively morning whatever the time of year. In the centre of town where once were watering holes for tired pilgrims are mystical shops with dreadlocked shopkeepers hawking crystals, bongos, bongs and tie-dye everything. Not exactly the crafts we were after. So we jumped on the bus to Glastonbury Tor, a rippling hump of earthen terraces rising out of the meadows, supposedly a Neolithic labyrinth as well as the home of the Gwyn ap Nudd, the king of the fairies. At the summit there's a commanding viewpoint from which you can appreciate why a lot of Somerset is so boggy. The basin is scooped out of the Mendips so all the rain (of which there's plenty, but we had brilliant sun) trickles into the fields below. Trying to spot the site of the Glastonbury festival in among the ley lines, it occurred to me that Michael Eavis, its founder, should erect his main stage on top of the Tor, so this year's headliners, Gorillaz and Stevie Wonder, could entertain the entire county (not to mention the fairy king) for free. As I mused, a very Gerard Manley Hopkins kestrel hovered at eye level in front of the small crowd on the Tor, as if suspended by a string.

We ambled back down, stopping at the Chalice Well, a peaceful garden with a natural spring that leaves bright orange iron deposits in its figure-of-eight paddling pools. We left the more
spiritually inclined to their meditations among the hellebores and headed to the Rural Life Museum in the abbey's barns, guarded by a flock of sheep. Inside, the old wooden cider presses reminded the Spanish contingent of Asturias, Spain's cider-producing answer to Somerset. We finished up at the towering remains of Glastonbury Abbey, burial ground of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, or so we were led to believe. Had it not been destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540 it would still be the largest place of worship in the country, dwarfing the cathedrals of Westminster and York.

By the time we'd made it round to the Abbot's Kitchen, we were ravenous and decamped to At The Chapel in Bruton, run by two restaurateur exiles from London who opened an all-day brasserie 18 months ago (regulars include West End producer
Cameron Mackintosh and fashion designers Alice Temperley and Phoebe Philo of Celine, who come for a shot of caffeine and inspiration). On entering there's a bakery on the left, a wine shop on the right, and entrepreneurs tucking into coffee and croissants amid the ecclesiastical grandeur of the nave. Straight ahead an Antony Gormley-style effigy hovers in place of the cross, flanked by triple-height windows. Would Henry VIII have approved?

WHERE TO STAY
The Old Bakery in North Curry is available through Helpful Holidays. It can sleep up to
seven in three bedrooms. On arrival there's wine and honey in a welcome basket and the shop next door sells everything else you might need. The house has a huge range with six hobs, and an old-fashioned Bakelite phone with a comforting bring-bring tone. From £231 per week (low season) to £695 (high season) and £475 for Christmas (01647 433 593; helpfulholidays.com).

WHAT TO DO
Housed in Glastonbury Abbey's former farmhouse, the domestic life of Victorian Somerset from the classroom to the kitchen is reconstructed in the Rural Life Museum, along with an exhibition of tools and a bevvy of baaing sheep (01458 831 197).

WHERE TO DRINK
A short walk from Wells, The George Inn at Croscombe was voted rural pub of the year last year by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. When the new owners took over ten years ago, they exposed the original fireplace and put a restaurant in the old beer cellar. Sip a pint of The Orchard Pig, a natural cider from nearby orchards that press their apples within 24 hours of being picked (01749 342 306;thegeorgeinn.co.uk).

WHERE TO EAT
Whether it's a morning fix of scrambled eggs and field mushrooms or an evening meal of seared wood pigeon, At The Chapel in Bruton strikes a good balance between smart and relaxed, and is going down well with the Babington crowd (atthechapel.co.uk).

WHERE TO SHOP
In Clarks Village, next to the shoe company HQ in Street, there's an outlet where you can stock up on Barbour jackets and bags, Clarks desert boots and Calvin Klein underwear (clarksvillage.co.uk).

CLOCK THIS
The present Wells Cathedral building was begun
almost 1,000 years ago and the clock, which still
has its medieval face depicting a pre-Copernican universe with the earth at its centre, is thought to have been installed by a Bishop of Salisbury in 1386. It's worth arriving on the hour to see its mechanical knights come out to joust.