Sister property to South Africa's Babylonstoren, this 1687 limestone manor and its converted Farmyard buildings scatter 40 rooms across an estate where horticulture drives everything—from the working cyder cellar and Beezantium honeybee sanctuary to the kitchen gardens supplying three restaurants, including Farmyard Kitchen. A spa with indoor-outdoor pool offers family swim times, while a replica Roman villa adds scholarly whimsy. Ideal for multi-generational stays.
The Georgian manor that launched a thousand country-house imitators, Babington House brought Soho House's urban sensibility to the Somerset countryside and created a template still widely copied. The authentic period exterior—recognizable from Jane Austen adaptations—belies interiors designed for creative types seeking respite. The Cowshed spa, swimming pool, tennis courts, and private cinema keep guests occupied, while family rooms with bunk beds and Xboxes welcome younger visitors.
A converted chapel on Bruton's High Street, At the Chapel houses eight rooms where pared-back interiors meet sculptural flourishes and contemporary art. The ground floor hums with activity: a restaurant, wine shop, bar, and bakery turning out iced finger buns that children devour. Families settle into the Dovecote Suite, sleeping four, with a dedicated children's menu downstairs. The Hauser & Wirth gallery lies minutes away.
An 18th-century manor house deep in the Devonshire woodlands, Northcote Manor delivers formal fine-dining that ranks among the region's best, alongside traditional cream teas taken on manicured lawns. The pace here is unhurried, the gardens inviting quiet exploration. Families find a thoughtful welcome, with early children's suppers served in the conservatory before the main dining room fills with couples seeking a polished country retreat.
Eight bohemian bedrooms filled with salvaged antiques give this south Somerset inn its eccentric charm, while the kitchen draws on global influences to create dishes rooted in local farms and producers. Families gravitate toward the Stagecoach room, where a children's bunk bed built into a stone alcove delights younger guests. An informal atmosphere and dedicated children's menu make it a natural base for exploring the Somerset and Dorset countryside.
Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson's farm-to-table tasting menus unfold in a beautifully restored coaching inn on the Somerset countryside, where minimalist interiors frame dishes of striking technical precision—think chilled tomato consommé with fig oil, its flavours pure and unadorned. A Michelin star and Green Star underscore the commitment to sustainability, with organic and biodynamic wines complementing home-grown produce. Four guest rooms extend the experience overnight.
Within The Newt's Georgian estate, Botanical Rooms occupies a mellow stone building where oak-panelled walls frame a glass-covered courtyard. The semi-open kitchen centers on a wood-fired grill, turning estate-reared lamb and Dorset seafood into refined Italian plates built on seasonal produce. Service runs with polished efficiency, matching the laid-back elegance that pervades this countryside dining room.
Wood smoke drifts through a dramatically designed open kitchen where pots, pans, and chairs hang from the rafters—part rustic charm, part contemporary theatre. Set within the Art Farm development, Da Costa channels Italian soul through hand-cut pasta and hearty, fire-kissed dishes. The bigoli with venison ragù captures the kitchen's philosophy: robust flavours, artisan craft, and an atmosphere that feels like a particularly chic country kitchen.
A former village bank transformed into a striking dining room where exposed architectural bones meet distressed designer finishes. The London-trained chef cultivates deep ties with Somerset growers, translating seasonal harvests into modern British plates with quiet confidence. Guests choose between the main room's industrial elegance, counter seats facing the open kitchen, or a sun-drenched rear terrace. Seven bedrooms extend the stay.
A honey-stone 18th-century inn anchoring a postcard-perfect South Somerset village, The Barrington Boar draws on its chef-owners' pedigree from London's Michelin-starred kitchens. The cooking is confidently modern British—balanced, full-flavoured dishes that reward a deliberate detour. Four bedrooms converted from the old skittle alley allow guests to linger after a meal best enjoyed without rush.
Celebrity chef Margot Henderson traded east London for this 17th-century Somerset pub, bringing her ingredient-led philosophy to hearty country dishes—rabbit pie, mince on toast—that showcase local produce without fuss. Stone floors, large fireplaces, and whitewashed walls set a pared-back tone, while a walled garden and terrace extend the experience outdoors. Five comfortable bedrooms make lingering easy.
Occupying the ground floor of Number One Bruton, a handsome Georgian hotel, Briar delivers Italian-inflected cooking with genuine warmth and Bib Gourmand-recognized value. The format favors sharing plates—three or four per person—where bright, punchy flavors dominate. A signature buttermilk fried partridge arrives with pickled shallots and tarragon mayonnaise, capturing the kitchen's knack for balancing richness with acidity.
A Bib Gourmand address occupying a characterful 17th-century inn, Queen of Cups channels Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences through vibrant small plates built on West Country ingredients. The format rewards sharing—particularly the Queen's Feast tasting selection matched with local ciders. A sun-warmed courtyard and intimate interior rooms create an atmosphere suited to unhurried, convivial dining in Glastonbury's centre.
From its dining room on Sadler Street, Wells Cathedral's Gothic towers frame every meal at this vegetable-forward address. The Bib Gourmand kitchen builds small plates around seasonal produce, coaxing remarkable depth from humble ingredients—roasted roots, leafy greens, heritage grains. Regulars know to begin with the fried cheese choux puffs, impossibly smooth and rich. Eager service and gentle prices make return visits easy.
A veteran chef helms this pocket-sized Taunton bistro, where the cooking toggles between French tradition and reworked British staples—think hearty, direct plates stripped of unnecessary flourish. The intimate dining room suits quiet suppers, while a glass-roofed conservatory slides open to the elements on fine days. Service runs bright and unhurried, matching the kitchen's unfussy confidence.
The Levels are England's answer to the wetlands of the Camargue or the Everglades — a horizontal landscape of exceptional flatness interrupted only by occasional ridges and the dramatic rise of Glastonbury Tor. Unlike the manicured countryside of the Cotswolds, this is working agricultural land with a raw, elemental quality. The network of rhynes (drainage ditches) and the twice-daily tidal surge up the River Parrett create a landscape in constant flux with the seasons.
Wells offers the most complete package: England's smallest city has a medieval cathedral, a moated bishop's palace, and a concentration of good restaurants. Bruton has emerged as an arts destination with Hauser & Wirth's gallery and farm. Glastonbury draws a different crowd — more mystical than gastronomic — but sits at the heart of the Levels proper. For deeper immersion, the villages of Wedmore and Langport provide quieter alternatives with strong local food connections.
The starling murmurations at RSPB Ham Wall between November and February draw thousands of visitors at dusk — this natural spectacle alone justifies a winter visit. Spring brings breeding waders and the first cider apple blossoms. Summer offers the driest walking conditions and longest days for exploring the Mendip caves. Autumn harvest season means fresh-pressed apple juice, sloe picking along the hedgerows, and golden light across the water meadows.
The Somerset Levels stretch across a vast wetland plain between the Mendip and Quantock hills, a landscape shaped by centuries of peat extraction and drainage. This is England's largest remaining lowland marsh — a place of willow-lined rhynes, ancient drove roads, and villages built on isolated 'islands' that once rose above winter floods. Glastonbury's tor dominates the eastern horizon, while the cathedral city of Wells anchors the northern edge.
Accommodation here follows the contours of the land: converted farmhouses along the Polden Hills, Georgian townhouses in Wells and Bruton, and country estates with grounds reaching to the water meadows. The dining scene draws on the surrounding larder — Cheddar cheese from the gorge caves, cider from orchards around Burrow Hill, willow-smoked fish from the Levels themselves. Morning mists lift to reveal herons stalking the drainage channels; evening brings starling murmurations over the reedbeds at Ham Wall.
