Scenic Saturday - Somerset

This week we travel back across north Devon to Exmoor. Just after we reach the moor we cross the border into Somerset. Exmoor is Lorna Doone country: indeed, one of the valleys is named Doone Valley. Exmoor is, perhaps, a little less wild than Dartmoor but the scenery is still magnificent. The village of Dunster is particularly attractive.

Other high spots in the county are the Quantock Hills and the Mendip Hills, which is where we find the Cheddar Gorge and its caves. Cheddar is also the home of what is arguable England's best known cheese. Between the Quantocks and the Mendips lie the Somerset Levels, a low-lying, marshy area (although now much drained) which some say is the site of Camelot. Somerset certainly vies with Cornwall as King Arthur country.

Glastonbury is now best known for its annual pop festival but was earlier a place of pilgrimage. There are many myths and legends surrounding the Abbey and Glastonbury Tor, a 500-foot hill rising from the Levels. One of the legends tells how Joseph of Aramathea brought his great-nephew Jesus to Glastonbury.

Many people would say that the jewel in Somerset's crown is the city of Bath, beloved of Jane Austen. I agree that the abbey, the Roman baths and the Georgian terraces are terrific - although I consider that we have Georgian terraces in Brighton & Hove that are better than those in Bath. Much as I like Bath, for me the jewel is the small city of Wells. Wells cathedral was, until very recently, home to the world's oldest hand-wound clock. This was installed in the late 1380s and it was wound by hand three times a week from then until August this year, when an electric motor was installed. Winding the clock took an hour during which time the 39 stone weights were turned about 800 times.

Our picture shows one of the swans in the moat at the Bishop's Palace in Wells ringing a bell to ask for food.

This picture was taken as a 35mm slide way back in 1979 so I can't guarantee that the swans are still there.