YHA Street

Once you’ve ticked the top nearby sightseeing spots off your list, it's time to concentrate on what else Somerset has in store: first, try spotting birds and otters at Shapwich Heath National Nature Reserve 20 minutes away, keeping a particularly beady eye out for Britain's biggest species of dragonfly, then set off further on for Wookey Hole (a half an hour drive). At the edge of the Mendips, this fantastically-named place is the gateway to caving, gorge climbing and hillwalking followed by meanders around manicured nature at Milton Lodge Gardens. Drop by Cheddar a further 10 minutes on to stock up on the famed cheese or go north west instead to the coast and have town and pier times at the former Victorian seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare (a 50-minute drive). If it’s a hot day and the kids could do with being dunked in water, splashes in the Clevedon Marine Lake are 50 minutes in the car too.