Heal Somerset

There’s a station in Bruton (15 minutes’ drive) if you’re travelling by public transport. The village is home to restaurants and shops as well as Hauser & Wirth Somerset (10 minutes’ walk from the centre). The latter is well-worth a visit for its contemporary art displays; you can tour art installations in the gardens for free. Frome (20 minutes’ drive) has shops and supermarkets as well as concerts and market stalls in the Cheese and Grain events venue. There’s a lot of history in this corner of Somerset too; you can nose around the handsome Palladian mansion at National Trust-owned Stourhead (15 minutes), and then explore the extensive gardens filled with follies and water features. Perhaps you’d also like to walk up to Alfred’s Tower for stunning views over Somerset and Wiltshire? Moated Nunney Castle (also 15 minutes) is a romantic medieval ruin that is free to wander. If you have kids with you, combine culture with a family day out at Longleat (20 minutes); take a self-guided look at Longleat House and then move on to spotting lions, giraffes and elephants in the safari park.