Places to eat and drink:
Axbridge
The Lamb - roll down the hill and it’s the lovely pub on the left as you go into the square. An old, old pub that dates back to around the 1400s, probably. It’s a really friendly place and not a weird local’s pub. Butcombe beer, and a decent menu too.
The Oakhouse - Under new ownership, and all the better for it - it’s the best place to have a drink in the sunshine, sitting in the square watching the world go by. They do a limited food menu too.
The Almshouse - just opposite the Co-Op, the Almshouse is a brilliant teashop, in yet another historic building. It’s also got a lovely little bookshop in there.
Ripley Antiques - more of an antiques treasure trove than a full eatery, but they do coffee and cakes and sometimes bacon sandwiches, and you can sit in the square and watch the world go by. The owners Jules and Lou are sure to give you the warmest welcome in all Axbridge and are very knowledgeable.
The Co-op is the other place in the square, which is useful for basics, early morning breakfast runs and late night booze top-ups. It’s open until 10.
Farmers Market - if you’re lucky enough to be here on the first Saturday of the month, then we’ve got a really good market in the square. Lots of fantastic local produce - meat, cheese, veg, booze, and more.
Cross
A fifteen minute walk from Axbridge, go west up West St, to the end of town and keep walking until you get to the last building on your left. There’s a path that goes through the field, and pops out more or less at the bottom of Coffin Lane. Take care crossing the A38, it’s a busy road.
The New Inn is really good - nice food, really good beers and a bit further down is the White Hart, who usually have a guest caterer at the weekends.
Cheddar
La Rocca, at the foot of the Gorge, is a really decent Italian place, with good views looking up at the cliffs and over the ponds.
Zen Thai is a good Thai restaurant, also on Cliff Road.
If you’re after a curry, Rasoi probably edges Spice Cottage, but if you need a takeaway then Chillies in Banwell is a better bet still. None of them are less than good though.
Souvlike is a new Greek restaurant - haven’t yet been but heard good reports. Bit more of a takeaway place than an eat-in, apparently.
After dinner, you probably ought to visit On The Rocks, the cocktail bar on Cliff Road. It’d be rude not to.
Pubs in Cheddar - there’s seven to choose from, but we like The Kings Head the best, up in the older part of the village.
Cheddar Ales, our local brewery, has a taproom just outside the village that’s open on weekends. There’s a mostly traffic-free route to get there via The Strawberry Line and other paths, which is handy if you’ve got bikes.
Cafes - you can take your pick, but if you’re a coffee snob like Bash then Cafe Gorge is your best bet - they do really good food there too.
Shops - there’s a medium sized Sainsbury’s and a small Tesco.
There’s a really good butcher called Cobbs, which also does a good local cheese selection, bread, and some great home made pasties and pies.
Parsons Bakery is a lovely traditional bakery.
Hansons Deli is another good place to go for cheese, cold meats and other delicious bits and bobs.
A bit further out
Root in Wells is probably our favourite local restaurant. We’d go so far to recommend it as highly as anything in the country - it’s really that good. Modern British cooking with influences from the southern Med, North Africa and Persia, with friendly and informal service in a lovely setting. It’s right by the Cathedral and Bishops Palace too, so if you go for lunch you can do some good sightseeing either side of the meal.
Queen of Cups is an incredible Middle Eastern restaurant in Glastonbury that we love. The chef was recently on Masterchef Professionals, and excelled. It’s sharing plates, with amazing flavours that make great use of local ingredients. You should go to Glasto if can anyway, there’s loads of nice pubs and cafes and you’ll probably get chatted up by a druid.
Winscombe has a really good wine shop, a couple more cafes and a really nice chippy. The pub’s not the most charming building but has good beers.
Wedmore is another lovely market town, which has pubs, a butcher, fishmonger and a few interesting shops. There’s a craft ale place too. It’s got the best dine-in Curry House in the area too - Table 8.
Chapel Allerton has the most wonderful smokery at The Wheatsheaf. It’s a good farm shop too, but their home smoked fish and cheese is so, so good. Some of the best smoked salmon we’ve ever had.
The Sheppey at Godney is one of the most unique pubs in the area, and does really good food. Combine it with a visit to RSPB Shapwick, or a mooch round Glastonbury, and you won’t be disappointed.
The Crown at Churchill is a proper old pub, tucked away. About as Somerset as it gets, with good cask ales and traditional food, only served at lunch. They only got a card machine two years ago. Have a walk up on Dolebury Warren Hill Fort then reward yourselves with a pint at the Crown after.
The Swan in Rowberrow is a lovely pub, and Rowberrow and surrounds is a great place to go walking or mountain biking. Have a walk to the Mendips’ highest point at Beacon Batch, and revel in the incredible 360 degree views.
Sakura is one of the best eateries in Weston - this is a Japanese restaurant that does really good sushi.
Fryer Tucks in Bridgwater is a superb gourmet fried chicken restaurant, also with great craft beers. Perfect place to stop at if you’re coming home from a day trip to The Quantocks.
Salt and Malt is probably the best chippy in the country. It’s on the edge of Chew Valley lake, and you get the most wonderful sunsets over the water and looking up at the hills. There’s a great walk you can do from here to visit the Stanton Drew stone circle - the second biggest in the country after Avebury.
The Lazy Lobster in Chew Magna is one of the best restaurants within striking distance. It’s seafood, and done really well.
Roger Wilkins Cider is the place to go if you want to taste proper Somerset apple juice. Roger is a legend in these parts. Or notorious. He also makes incredible cheese. Just, make sure you’ve got a designated driver, or you’ll wake up at 5am in a ditch somewhere on The Levels.
If that scares you, and god knows we wouldn’t blame you, Thatchers has a more sanitised cider experience over in Sandford. They own The Railway Inn, and there’s a nearby shop too, or you could go to Ad Astra’s tap room, which often have live music and other events.
Sports & Activities
The Great Outdoors. If you come to The Mendips for one thing, it’s surely this. Walking, cycling, mountain biking, running, nature watching - these hills have magic in them.
Ask us for routes - we’ll do our best to let you see the best spots.
There’s great walks straight from the house and up the hills, but short drives will get you to other really great spots such as Cheddar Gorge, Ebbor Gorge, Ubley Warren, Stockhill Woods, Rowberrow Woods, Dolebury Hill Fort, Crook Peak… too many to mention.
Roadies - notable hills include Cheddar Gorge, Burrington Combe, Deerleap, and the slightly masochistic Draycott Steep, with its all too long 20%+ section. If you fancy a flatter ride, you’re in luck. The Somerset Levels go out to the south for miles and miles. We’re also lucky to have The Strawberry Line, a traffic-free route that connects Cheddar all the way to Yatton.
MTBers - local trails are to be found in Rowberrow. All natural and quite technical; they’re a good challenge. If you’re not up for trails, the XC up on the hills is really nice too, and there’s a lot of stuff that’s good for gravel bikes as well.
Beaches - Weston and Burnham on Sea both have fun piers, and the muddy sand flats the Bristol Channel is famous for.
A bit further along, and Kilve is a really fun, quite secluded beach. Not much in the way of facilities, but really good rocks, rock pools and nice walks.
Nature - we’re particularly blessed for bird lovers round here. Most obviously, you’ll see birds of prey and ravens swooping up over the hills, but we’ve also got some fantastic RSPB reserves nearby. RSPB Shapwick and Ham Wall are famous for the starling murmurations, which you can usually see between October and March. Choose a clear evening for the best and longest murms, and get there early - the car parks fill up, especially at weekends and holiday times.
In addition, you’ll see all sorts of aquatic bird life, owls, birds of prey at the reserves. RSPB Steart is another location on the coast, which often pops up on Springwatch etc.
Country houses / stately homes etc:
The absolute best is Tyntesfield (National Trust). Incredible craftsmanship in the house, and wonderful gardens and woodland.
The Bishops Palace in Wells also has wonderful gardens, and you can visit the amazing cathedral while you’re there.
Dunster Castle on the other side of the Quantocks is worth the slightly longer drive - allow a full day to really explore it all; there’s also a watermill, woodland river walks, and a lovely village with shops and restaurants.
Activities for Kids:
Cheddar Gorge is 5 minutes away and has the wonderful Gough's Cave. It's worth having a walk around the gorge and looking at the huge cliffs and goats and whatnot, and you can also play crazy golf, buy ice cream and climb the notorious Jacob's Ladder.
Beaches aren't that far - closest are about 20 minutes away with Weston, Clevedon and Burnham also having great Victorian piers. Brean Beach is a bit quieter than those if you're not fans of the sometimes large crowds.
Clevedon has an amazing marine lake, if you're outdoor swimmers, but closer to home, there's an indoor pool at Kings Leisure Centre, about a 5 minute drive away.
There's loads of activities at the Mendip Activity Centre, including a dry ski slope (tobogganing is an option), climbing and all sorts.
If you're National Trust members, Tyntesfield is an amazing place to visit. Huge sprawling gardens and woodlands, you can spend all day there and not even see the half of it. They usually have little trails to keep the kids engaged, but to be honest they'll love running around it all anyway.
There's a local playground in Axbridge, and if you've any little skaters or BMXers there's both a skate park and pump track just on the other side of the reservoir.
We can recommend countless walks and outdoor places to have fun in up the hills - there's loads of rock formations, ancient earthworks and obviously loads of wildlife and nature to poke sticks at. Ubley Warren is a real favourite for everyone, with the Roman leadworks having carved out great rocky trenches in the landscape.
The smallest town in Somerset, medieval Axbridge is more of a village, nestled at the foot of the Mendip Hills close to Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole. Axbridge retains a strong community identity and as such hosts a variety of traditional festivals on a regular basis like the Blackberry Carnival and Axbridge Day, to progressives suppers, concerts in the church and live music and plays in the Town Hall.
There is plenty to do and see here, especially for walkers, trail runners and mountain bikers as the hills are accessed directly behind the house. Below are some of our favourite things to do and a run down of local eateries and amenities so you can plan your stay.
