Glastonbury: the town, the Tor and the Isle of Avalon

Glastonbury is a small Somerset town with an outsized reputation. Five miles from Hunter's Moon, it packs in a ruined abbey said to hold King Arthur's grave, a hill topped by a medieval tower, a holy well that has flowed for two thousand years, and a High Street where crystal shops sit beside craft bakeries and incense drifts in the air.

A very quirky town

Glastonbury is unlike anywhere else in England. Its colourful shop fronts sell crystals, tarot cards, Viking jewellery, esoteric books and ethnic clothing; its cafes are vegetarian and vegan by default; and its residents include hippies, druids, finely dressed goddesses and pagans alongside farmers and families. It is a wonderful place to sit outside a cafe and watch the world go by, and it is steeped in history, mythology and mystique.

The town grew up around Glastonbury Abbey, once the richest monastery in England, whose ruins sit in 37 acres of parkland just off the High Street. Above everything rises Glastonbury Tor, 518 feet high and crowned by the roofless St Michael's Tower, visible for miles across the flat Somerset Levels and from the lanes around Hunter's Moon.

Read more on our history of the area page, or jump straight to places to visit.

Explore Glastonbury

Places to visit

The Tor, the Abbey, Chalice Well, the Rural Life Museum, the Goddess Temple, the labyrinth and more.

Places to visit ›

History of the area

Avalon, Arthur, Joseph of Arimathea, ley lines, the Glastonbury Zodiac and the story of Hunter's Moon itself.

History ›

Shopping & markets

Crystals, bookshops, organic food, a craft bakery and the Tuesday, Thursday and monthly farmers' markets.

Shopping ›

Pubs

From the Lion at Pennard, a half-hour walk from the cottage, to award-winning gastropubs on the Levels.

Pubs ›

Restaurants & cafes

Breakfast cafes, fish and chips, Italian, Thai and takeaways that deliver to the cottage.

Eating out ›

The local villages

West Bradley, West Pennard, Pilton, Baltonsborough and Ditcheat: churches, tithe barns, orchards and pubs.

Villages ›

Glastonbury Festival

The world's most famous festival happens at Worthy Farm, Pilton, a few miles from Hunter's Moon.

Festival ›

Getting to Glastonbury from Hunter's Moon

The town is about twelve minutes by car along the A361 through West Pennard, with several car parks near the High Street (St Dunstan's is the largest, and hosts the markets). The Tor has its own small car park and a park-and-ride from the town in summer. Taxis are easy to book for an evening out, and energetic guests can cycle: the lanes through Baltonsborough and along the Levels are quiet and flat until the final climb to the Tor.

Wells, England's smallest city, is nine miles further on and makes a natural pairing with Glastonbury for a day out; see our Wells page.

When to visit

Glastonbury has something happening all year. Spring brings the Beltane celebrations in May and the wisteria at Hunter's Moon; late June is festival season, when the town fills with music fans (book early if you want those dates); summer is for sunrise on the Tor and long evenings in the hot tub; autumn colours the woods around the cottage and brings the Glastonbury Carnival in November, one of the biggest illuminated carnivals in Europe; and winter is the time for the Frost Fayre, the Winter Solstice gathering on the Tor and Christmas by the fire.