Glastonbury Tor

Saturday 3rd May 2008

It’s been a while since I have posted anything on this blog so to prevent myself getting out of the habit I’ll quickly start recounting my holiday from over the May Day weekend: I was away for a long weekend in Dartmoor but on the way I stopped off in Glastonbury for a visit, mainly because I’ve never been, but also because it gave me something to do on the way. Because of the enormously high cost of petrol I used public transport all day which frankly is probably not cheaper than driving and it's certainly not quicker. After changing at Birmingham and Bristol I caught a train to Bridgewater where I caught a bus that took forever to get to Glastonbury taking what seemed to be a chaotic route going all over the place until eventually I reached the legendary town after midday.

The first place I visited was the abbey, and I’ve got to say I was very disappointed. It's just a ruin, which I did know before I came, but there's hardly anything left, so there was hardly anything worth seeing. I had a look around, wandered around the grounds and took a few photographs, but I didn't stay more than an hour. My next destination was my real reason for going to Glastonbury and of course it's a hill: Glastonbury Tor. Although it's only 158m high it has really steep sides and commands great views across the Somerset Levels plus at the top is St Michael’s Tower, which must be one of the iconic pictures of the West Country. I recently saw a book about the places in England you have to visit and the Tor was actually on the cover and since seeing that I was determined to go. It may not be a high hill but as an icon of the English landscape it's enormous.

I next visited the chalice well which sparks thoughts of the Holy Grail, but in fact it is simply an entrancing garden with a stunning series of water features that emanate from a holy well. The place was billed as a spot for quiet contemplation and it certainly was restful, but my main reason for visiting was for the view of the tor opposite! After strolling around the garden a couple of times I returned to the town centre and caught a bus to Taunton, which took an almost straight course to the railway station. From Taunton I caught a train to Exeter and then another bus to Oakhampton on the northern tip of Dartmoor. I was now set for an epic traverse from north to south of one of the wildest and most inhospitable places in England.