Photo: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Somerset
The best holidays are planned around great days out. Here's what's on the doorstep in Somerset, from big-ticket attractions to rainy-day savers.
🎟️ This weekend near Somerset
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 11:00
Shiiine On Weekender - Minehead
Butlins Minehead Resort, Minehead · 21.3 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 19:00
Hindsight's 27th Birthday - Fright Night
Labyrinth, Taunton · 7.2 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Taunton Audio Tour: Echoes of History and Heritage
County Hall, Taunton, Taunton · 7.6 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Glastonbury Audio Tour: A Sacred Tapestry Tour
Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury · 12.7 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Aquariums
29.8 mi from Somerset
Bristol Aquarium
Bristol Aquarium sits in the heart of the city on the historic Harbourside, with more than 40 naturally-themed displays of tropical sharks, rays, seahorses, turtles and other aquat...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Museums & Galleries
1.9 mi from Somerset
The Admiral Blake Museum
The Blake Museum is in Bridgwater, Somerset, England at what is believed to be the birthplace of Robert Blake, General at Sea (1598–1657). Since April 2009 it has been run by Bridg... — Wikipedia
2.5 mi from Somerset
Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum
Industrial heritage museum in Somerset, England, UK
7.1 mi from Somerset
Somerset Cricket Museum
Somerset Cricket Museum in Taunton, Somerset, England, is a small museum housing exhibits on the history of cricket with a particular emphasis on the history of Somerset County Cri... — Wikipedia
✓
✓
7.4 mi from Somerset
Somerset Military Museum
The Somerset Military Museum is part of the Museum of Somerset located in the 12th century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton, Somerset. It is a "registered and accredited mu... — Wikipedia
✓
7.4 mi from Somerset
Museum of Somerset
The Museum of Somerset, run by the South West Heritage Trust, holds a wide-ranging collection covering costume and textiles, fine and decorative art, archaeology, natural sciences...
✓
✓
✓
✓
7.7 mi from Somerset
Nether Stowey Library
The Thomas Poole Library in Nether Stowey is a welcoming, volunteer-run community library offering far more than books. You can browse fiction, large-print titles, DVDs and talking...
✓
✓
8.6 mi from Somerset
The Mill House
The Mill House is a restored watermill and rural life museum in Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset, built around an impressive overshot waterwheel. You can explore traditional trades such...
✓
8.6 mi from Somerset
Bishops Lydeard Mill
Bishops Lydeard Mill is a restored working watermill in a small Somerset village near Taunton, where you can see an overshot waterwheel that, despite weighing over two tonnes, can...
✓
9 mi from Somerset
Gauge Museum Bishops Lydeard
Gauge Museum Bishops Lydeard sits on Platform One at Bishops Lydeard Station, run by volunteers as part of the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust's work preserving and displaying...
✓
12.7 mi from Somerset
Glastonbury Tribunal
Glastonbury Tribunal is a fine late 15th-century stone town house with an early Tudor façade and panelled interiors, once thought to have been the courtroom of Glastonbury Abbey. I...
✓
✓
✓
✓
12.7 mi from Somerset
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey is a historic ruined monastery set in 36 acres of grounds in Glastonbury, Somerset, with legendary links to Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur. You can wander th...
✓
✓
✓
12.9 mi from Somerset
Somerset Rural Life Museum
Somerset Rural Life Museum is part of the South West Heritage Trust, which also runs the Museum of Somerset and other local heritage sites across the region. The website does not p...
✓
15.1 mi from Somerset
King John's Hunting Lodge;King John's Hunting Lodge (Axbridge Museum)
King John's Hunting Lodge is an early Tudor timber-framed wool merchant's house dating from around 1500, now run as a local history museum by the Axbridge and District Museum Trust...
15.4 mi from Somerset
Ilchester Museum
Ilchester Museum is a small local museum in Ilchester, Somerset, England. The museum is based in a former private house, known as the Town Hall House. Standing behind Ilchester Tow... — Wikipedia
15.5 mi from Somerset
Upottery Airfield Nissen Hut Heritage Centre
This is a small heritage centre near Upottery airfield, run by the South West Airfields Heritage Trust, telling the story of local airfields used during the Second World War. You c...
✓
15.8 mi from Somerset
Chard Museum
Chard Museum is a small local history museum in Chard, Somerset, housed in a converted 16th-century thatched, listed building that once comprised four cottages and the old New Inn....
Theme Parks
12.8 mi from Somerset
Brean Theme Park
Brean Theme Park is a free-admission theme park just off the M5 in Brean, Somerset, offering a day of rides and attractions for all ages. You'll find roller coasters, dodgems, a tr...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
22.6 mi from Somerset
Diggerland
Diggerland is a hands-on theme park where you can ride, drive and operate real diggers, dumpers and other full-size construction machinery, alongside more than 20 rides and drives...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
23.4 mi from Somerset
Barry Island Pleasure Park
Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park situated on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles (16 km) south west of the capital city Cardiff, Wales... — Wikipedia
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
26.9 mi from Somerset
Gartell Light Railway
The Gartell Light Railway is a privately run narrow gauge railway in South Somerset, near Dorset, opened to the public on selected dates. You can ride trains through the Blackmore...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Water Parks
11.5 mi from Somerset
Greenbank Pool
Greenbank Pool is an outdoor heated swimming pool in the heart of Street, Somerset, close to Clarks Village Shopping Centre. The main 30-metre pool is heated to 30C, with a warmer...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Zoos & Wildlife
15.7 mi from Somerset
Tropiquaria
Tropiquaria is a small zoo and animal sanctuary in Minehead, Somerset, built in and around a repurposed 1933 BBC Radio Transmitting Station. The Grade II listed building houses a R...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
20.9 mi from Somerset
North Somerset Bird of Prey Centre
The North Somerset Bird of Prey Centre in Congresbury is a small sanctuary caring for over 60 resident birds of prey, alongside reptiles, ferrets, meerkats, foxes, a binturong, sku...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
21.8 mi from Somerset
Foxdown Childrens Farm
Foxdown Children's Farm is a small family-run working farm set high in the Marshwood Vale, West Dorset, with views towards the Jurassic coastline. Here you can wander at leisure, p...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
+2
25.5 mi from Somerset
Welsh Hawking Centre
The Welsh Hawking Centre and Children's Animal Park is a hawking centre on Weycock Road on the northwestern outskirts of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, in southern Wales. It contains th... — Wikipedia
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
26.9 mi from Somerset
Noah's Ark Zoo Farm
Noah's Ark Zoo Farm is a family-friendly zoo near Bristol, home to over 100 species of animal and the largest elephant facility in the UK. Alongside the animal enclosures, you'll f...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Where to stay near Somerset
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Somerset
Somerset is a region best planned by area rather than by list. The three bases most people choose — Minehead on the edge of Exmoor, Weston-super-Mare on the coast, and Bath at the eastern end — each have their own set of days out, and trying to stitch them together in one go tends to mean a lot of driving and not much visiting. Pick a corner, plan around the weather, and the county repays you generously. There are 959 places to stay on BritStays in the region, so you can pitch yourself near whichever half of it appeals.
Best for families
Weston-super-Mare is the obvious family base. Webbington Farm and Oakham Treasures both sit in that area and work well for younger children who need space and something to look at rather than a queue to stand in. Brean Down Bird Garden is a gentler, slower visit and a good one to pair with a beach afternoon. If the weather turns warm, Greenbank Pool is a proper swimming day out and worth building the rest of the day around rather than squeezing in at the end.
Over in Minehead, the Nash Point Fog Horn tends to go down better with children than you'd expect — loud, odd and memorable, which is most of what a family day out needs.
Rainy-day options
Somerset does wet weather regularly enough that it's worth having a reserve plan written down before you arrive. Bath has the strongest indoor cluster: the Museum of Bath Architecture and the Museum of Bath Stone between them explain why the city looks the way it does, and the American Museum (Claverton Manor) is a bigger, longer visit with grounds for when it clears.
- Blagdon Pumping Station & Visitor Centre — machinery and waterworks, near Weston-super-Mare
- Dulverton Heritage Centre — small, local and well suited to an hour out of the rain near Minehead
- Glastonbury Tribunal — a compact stop in Glastonbury, easily combined with the Abbey
Outdoors and big views
Exmoor is the headline, and Minehead is the natural jumping-off point for it. Give it a full day; it isn't a place to dip into for twenty minutes. Cheddar Gorge is the other great outdoor set piece, dramatic from the road and better still on foot, and it sits sensibly within a Weston-super-Mare-based itinerary. Glastonbury Tor is a shorter but steeper effort with a view that justifies the climb — take it on a clear day if you can choose.
Heritage and grand houses
Glastonbury Abbey is the one heritage site that suits almost everyone: ruins, lawns and enough space for children to be children. For houses and gardens, Dyrham Park and Priest's House are National Trust properties, so membership pays for itself quickly if you're visiting more than one. Iford Manor, Great Chalfield Manor, Pixton Park, Sutton Court and Saltford Manor House round out the list for anyone who likes old stone and older gardens.
How to group it into a sensible day
Three combinations that work without rushing:
- Coast and caves: Brean Down Bird Garden in the morning, lunch, then Cheddar Gorge for the afternoon.
- Glastonbury day: Glastonbury Abbey first, Glastonbury Tribunal after, then Glastonbury Tor late in the day when the light is better.
- Bath day: Museum of Bath Architecture and Museum of Bath Stone in one walkable morning, then the American Museum (Claverton Manor) for the afternoon.
Farm-type attractions such as Webbington Farm and Oakham Treasures tend to fill a morning comfortably on their own — don't stack two of them.
Where to eat
Five places in the region hold 5-star food hygiene ratings and are worth noting down: Rosewood, The Lamb Inn, The Woodborough Inn and The Railway are all pubs and inns, and Sam's Deli is the one to use for picnic supplies before an Exmoor or Cheddar Gorge day. Sunday lunch at any of the pubs is worth booking ahead; walking in on spec is a gamble in season.
Turning it into a short break
Three nights is the sweet spot. Two bases work better than one if you want both Exmoor and Bath — split the stay rather than driving back and forth. A workable pattern: two nights near Minehead for Exmoor, Dulverton Heritage Centre and the Nash Point Fog Horn, then two nights closer to Bath for the museums and Dyrham Park.
Practical notes
Check opening days before you travel — smaller sites such as the Glastonbury Tribunal and Dulverton Heritage Centre often keep shorter or seasonal hours. Take proper footwear for Glastonbury Tor, Cheddar Gorge and Exmoor, all of which get slippery. Book pub tables in advance at weekends, carry cash for smaller attractions, and keep one indoor option per day in reserve.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I base myself in Somerset?
It depends what you want. Minehead suits Exmoor and quieter days out, Weston-super-Mare suits families and the coast, and Bath suits museums and heritage. BritStays lists 959 places to stay across the region, so you can choose by area rather than compromising.
What are the best rainy-day attractions in Somerset?
Bath has the strongest indoor cluster, with the Museum of Bath Architecture, the Museum of Bath Stone and the American Museum (Claverton Manor). Elsewhere, try Blagdon Pumping Station & Visitor Centre near Weston-super-Mare, the Dulverton Heritage Centre near Minehead, or the Glastonbury Tribunal.
What is there to do with children in Somerset?
Webbington Farm, Oakham Treasures and Brean Down Bird Garden are all in the Weston-super-Mare area and work well with younger children. Greenbank Pool is a good warm-weather day out, and the Nash Point Fog Horn near Minehead is usually a hit.
Are there National Trust properties in Somerset?
Yes. Dyrham Park and Priest's House are both National Trust. If you plan to visit more than one property, membership tends to pay for itself quickly.
How can I spend a day in Glastonbury?
Start at Glastonbury Abbey, which has ruins and plenty of open lawn, then visit the Glastonbury Tribunal, and finish with the climb up Glastonbury Tor later in the day when the light is better. Wear footwear with decent grip for the Tor.
Where can I eat with confidence in Somerset?
Rosewood, The Lamb Inn, The Woodborough Inn and The Railway are pubs and inns with 5-star hygiene ratings, and Sam's Deli is useful for picnic supplies before a day on Exmoor or at Cheddar Gorge. Book pub tables ahead at weekends.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Somerset.