Places to visit in and around Glastonbury

You could spend a week in Glastonbury and not see everything. These are the places we send our guests to first, all within twenty minutes of Hunter's Moon.

Glastonbury Tor

The striking Glastonbury Tor, managed by the National Trust, stands proudly above the town and dominates the landscape for miles. It is 518 feet high and topped by the fifteenth-century roofless St Michael's Tower, all that remains of the church that once stood here. The Tor is linked to Arthurian legend, mentioned in Celtic mythology and layered with other spiritual associations, and the terraced conical hilltop offers spectacular sunrises and sunsets with panoramic views across the Somerset Levels to the Mendips, the Quantocks and, on a clear day, the Welsh hills.

The climb takes about twenty minutes by the concrete path from the Wellhouse Lane entrance. It is free and open all the time; go at dawn for the mist, or at dusk for the sunset. From Hunter's Moon it is four miles as the crow flies, and you can see it from the lane outside the gate.

Glastonbury Abbey and Museum

Set in 37 acres of beautifully peaceful parkland in the middle of the town are the fabled remains of a wealthy monastery with links to King Arthur and Guinevere. Christian legend claims the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the first century; by the fourteenth century it was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. Wander the Lady Chapel, the soaring transept arches, the abbot's kitchen (one of the best-preserved medieval kitchens in Europe) and the spot marked as Arthur's tomb, then visit the museum, the herb garden, the orchard and the descendant of the Holy Thorn. There are costumed guides in summer, and the grounds are a lovely place for a picnic. glastonburyabbey.com

Chalice Well and Gardens

The famed ancient holy well is surrounded by beautiful gardens and orchards and is a living sacred sanctuary. For over two thousand years this has been a place where visitors gather to drink the iron-rich water, which flows at a constant 25,000 gallons a day and never fails, and to find solace, quiet healing, peace and inspiration. It nestles in the Vale of Avalon between Chalice Hill and the Tor. Look for the Vesica Piscis well cover, the Lion's Head drinking fountain and the healing pool where you can paddle. Across the road, the White Spring flows into a candle-lit Victorian reservoir. chalicewell.org.uk

Somerset Rural Life Museum

Housed in the fourteenth-century Abbey Barn and a Victorian farmhouse on Chilkwell Street, the museum tells the story of farming, cider making, peat cutting and village life on the Levels, with a lovely cafe and garden. Good for a rainy morning and free to enter.

The Glastonbury Experience courtyard and Goddess Temple

Just off the High Street and through an alley you will find a collection of fascinating and eclectic shops in a self-contained courtyard. It is also home to the Library of Avalon, a specialist library of esoteric and Arthurian books, and the Goddess Temple, the first temple in Britain dedicated to the Goddess to be officially registered as a place of worship. Visitors are welcome.

Glastonbury Tercentennial Labyrinth

The labyrinth is in the grounds of the fifteenth-century St John's Church on the High Street. Laid out by volunteers in 2007, it is a grass labyrinth of the classical seven-circuit design with a pathway delineated by locally quarried Blue Lias stone. Walk it slowly; it takes about ten minutes. The churchyard also has a Holy Thorn.

Bride's Mound and Wearyall Hill

Bride's Mound is a small hill in an area called Beckery Island, just west of Glastonbury. It forms the western gateway to Avalon and was the site of a chapel associated with St Bridget. Nearby Wearyall Hill is where Joseph of Arimathea is said to have planted his staff; the walk along its spine gives a wonderful view of the Tor and the town.

The Avalon Marshes

West of the town, the Avalon Marshes are a spectacular wetland of lush vegetation, reed beds and open water, home to a huge range of wildlife and a haven for birds. Watch and listen to the starling murmurations over the reed beds on winter evenings, look for otters, booming bitterns, marsh harriers, butterflies and dragonflies, and walk or cycle the numerous flat trails, paths and drove roads. The nature reserves at Shapwick Heath, Ham Wall and Westhay Moor, with their shimmering lakes, are all a short drive from Hunter's Moon; see our wildlife and nature page.

Further afield

Wells Cathedral, Wookey Hole, Cheddar Gorge, Bath, Stourhead, Longleat and the coast are all covered on our days out page. Hungry after all that? See restaurants and cafes.