Somerset's Gourmet and Garden Scene

A visit to the pastoral landscapes of Somerset can both soothe the soul and nourish the palate. This south-west English county is not merely the home of Cheddar cheese or ancient apple orchards, Somerset’s epicurean delights are in abundance.

Unlike most people packing their Wellington boots for Somerset’s famed Glastonbury festival, I’m stomping about in mine in apple orchards. In distilleries. On dairy farms. In cheese rooms. In smokeries. Around 300 acres of gardens. While the Glastonbury festival is returning in 2022 after a pandemic hiatus with Diana Ross as one of the headliners, the real showstopper for anyone considering an extended road trip is Somerset’s permanent gourmet line-up and its glorious greenery.

Your trip to the West Country can also be nothing short of spectacular, by taking a bespoke tour with Dream Escape. Adventures begin to The Newt’s Great Garden Escape with first-class train travel from London Paddington. Dream Escape's Head of Marketing, Sue Morris and Blue Badge Guide, Sally Strange are huge fans of this experience, following their time there last summer, and expect the 2022 offering to be equally amazing.

The Newt is an extraordinary country estate in Bruton, with exquisitely cultivated gardens and cidery (while they spell it ‘cyder’, do note ‘cider’ and ‘cyder’ are interchangeable) on the 300-acre grounds that encompass a working farm, a forest, a deer park, a gelateria, a restaurant, a tree-walk, shops and a boutique hotel.

The Farmyard at The Newt

Your lunch of local produce in the pretty Garden Café will clue you in to the divine spoils of Somerset and you may wonder if there’s something in the air or the soil that makes everything taste so special.

The small radius of extraordinarily high-quality producers in Somerset has a lot to do with this south-west county’s geography. Over at Thatchers Cider, which has been a commercial cider business since 1904, chief cidermaker Richard Johnson points out the Mendip Hills around us at Myrtle Farm: “They were produced hundreds of millions of years ago when Africa crashed into Europe and pushed Britain up out of the water. At the time we were under water here.

Pretty Somerset thatched cottage built into the ruins of a moated medieval castle at Stogursey

Somerset grows great grass and that makes great milk and that makes great cheese. It’s not rocket science

The Mendip Hills are limestone, so for millions of years all that limestone was under the sea and when it was pushed up out of the water, all its microscopic sea creatures were pushed into the valleys, so we have really deep, rich, mineral soil, which provides really good nutrients.” Combined with the temperate climate this close to the sea, it makes the west of England an excellent spot for growing apples, which is why you’ll find most of Britain’s cider makers here.

But Somerset’s not just about the cider. I emerge from Brown & Forrest Smokery in Langport as aromatic as a blazing wood bonfire, but I’ve tasted some of the best smoked meat and fish of my life here. “I’m only interested in the best quality I can find,” says owner Jesse Pattisson, who supplies the likes of chefs Mitch Tonks and Nathan Outlaw with bespoke smoked produce, as well as restaurant chain Hawksmoor and Fortnum & Mason. You won’t find Brown & Forrest produce in supermarkets either, which is reason enough to make the trip to the redchecked tableclothed restaurant here to indulge. “Ninety per cent of my stuff comes from 20 miles of here,” says Jesse, as we survey the rain-spattered, glowing-green landscape. “Somerset grows great grass and that makes great milk and that makes great cheese. It’s not rocket science.”

“Somerset is fantastic for grass,” echoes Tim Mead, CEO of Yeo Valley Organic Farm, which has been making yoghurt since 1969 but decided to back organic farming 20 years ago and now has 1800 employees.

Unlike Brown & Forrest, Yeo Valley's wide range of dairy products is available in supermarkets across Britain, but unlike their dairy competitors, they have a cafe in Somerset’s Blagdon, as well as one in London’s Bayswater that serve breakfasts and brunches. It’s a slick operation. At the quirkily decorated Blagdon outlet, there’s even a dedicated space for their food ambassador (chef Paul Collins) to do regular cooking demonstrations, and they also hold a festival (Valley Fest) at the end of July that attracts 50,000 visitors annually.

Cheddar Gorge

Cheddar Cheese

True dairy aficionados shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample Cheddar cheese in the Somerset village of Cheddar and from the world’s only cheesemaker that matures some of it in the caves of Cheddar Gorge itself. “It’s traditional Cheddar cheese made by hand,” says Katherine Spencer who, along with partner John, took over the small business when it was in decline in 2003 and turned it into the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company. “We only make between six and nine cheeses every day. It’s small batch, it’s very much an artisan process.” Godminster should also be on your list for Cheddar expeditions, having won numerous international awards for its organic Cheddars, available from its cheese shop in the heart of Bruton.

In fact, you may notice a significant number of visitors in the area, thanks to Bruton’s meteoric rise in the arts scene, with blue-chip gallery Hauser & Wirth opening an outpost here on Durslade Farm in 2014. Housing five art galleries, a garden, the brilliant Roth Bar & Grill, a farm shop and farmhouse available for private stays, the multipurpose space is a must-visit.

Radić Pavilion, Hauser & Wirth Somerset

In spring–summer of 2022, there’s an exhibition of Henry Moore as well as an open-air presentation of his seminal works.

To further admire Somerset’s unspoiled landscapes, Dream Escape will arrange a special visit to Montacute House, a glorious example of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and one of the few structures in England still set within a compartmentalised garden. Roses and geraniums will be blossoming in summer, and the North Garden, in particular, is a rare surviving example of an Elizabethan garden, with the team recreating a parterre as a reminder of the Tudor vision for the space.

Montacute House

Montacute Orangery

IMAGES ARE COURTESY OF NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES / JOHN MILLER / JAMES DOBSON /JASON INGRAM / SHUTTERSTOCK / VISITBRITAIN / STEPHEN SPRAGGON

WHERE TO STAY

The Talbot Inn is a 15th-century coach house in Mells with impressive gourmet credentials. The sun-filled courtyard and pink-poppied gardens are sublime summer spots for sampling local seasonal fare, and The Sitting Room (a fully restored 500-year-old beamed tithe barn) is a perfect private escape for small groups to sit around a log-burning stove when the nights turn chilly. Dream Escape will arrange for you to stay in the Very Large Room 01, to unwind in a freestanding rolltop bath that overlooks the mature gardens, for a last lingering look at Somerset’s green glow.

Find out more

Sue Morris, Head of Marketing

“Somerset is the ultimate hidden gem of the English countryside. Whether it is a day trip from London or an isolated visit, you will be bowled over by the warmth and beauty of this county; rich in gastronomic delights, garden beauty and artistic magnificence. Our design planners have got it covered.”

⬥ sue@dreamescape.co.uk

www.dreamescape.co.uk

WORDS | KARYN NOBLE