Somerset in Focus

Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival or 'Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts' to give its full title takes place most years. It is a four day festival held at Worthy Farm in the village of Pilton, six miles east of Glastonbury. Known locally as the 'Pilton Pop Festival' it came into being in September 1970 when locally farmer Michael Eavis decided to host the 'Pilton Pop, Blues and Folk Festival'.

The Glastonbury Festival has grown into the biggest and some say best music festival in Britain. The area around Glastonbury has always had an alternative feel to it and the pop festival tries to keep to this ethos. The 900 acre site is divided into various music stages marquees and accommodation fields and now attracts over 135,000 festival visitors.

The Royal Bath and West Show

The Royal Bath and West Show is, after the 'Glastonbury Pop Festival', probably the best attended annual event in Somerset. The Show is held at The Royal Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet, on the A371 and is easily accessible from the M5. [SatNav BA4 6QN]. Having recently celebrated its 150th year, in 2013, the Royal Bath and West is a four day event held at the end of May or early June.

There is just so much to do for all the family: See some of the country's finest livestock, watch the displays, or just wile away the hours in the huge food halls.

The Show hosts the biggest Cheese Show in the UK. The National Cheese Awards, with over 60 categories and over 700 entries is well worth exploring. Royal Bath and West is also home to the largest Cider Competition in the country, with the option to perform 'taste tests' on the products guided by the experts in the 'Orchard and Cider Pavilion'.

RNAS Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum and Air Day

Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton (HMS Heron) was constructed in July 1939 and commissioned on 18th June 1940 on 417 acres of farmland just east of Ilchester. The Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton was opened by HRH Prince Philip on 28th May 1964. It is one of the largest aviation museums in the world, hosting Europe's largest naval aviation collection and offers visitors the chance to experience the expansion of the Royal Navy into the air.