Say cheese

SUDDENLY, almost in the blink of an eye, you realise there is a lot more to Somerset than cheese and cider. Travelling along its highways and by-ways, you happen on little gems which put this county on a par with its more touristy neighbours of Devon and Cornwall.

There are also major changes taking place in coastal resorts, like Weston- super-Mare, which made the headlines, for all the wrong reasons, by losing its pier in a disastrous fire in July, last year.

Dominating the skyline as a major attraction is the Weston Wheel.

Weighing 150 tons and 40 metres high, it’s smaller than its London counterpart, but still impressive. On a clear day, from its cabins, you can see as far as the Millennium stadium in Cardiff.

Major improvements, centred around a fun beach and new walkways and seating along the reinforced sea wall, are all helping to enhance Weston’s reputation as a major seaside resort.

Stroll into town to the North Somerset Museum and you are given a fascinating insight into the resort’s past and present.

The present comes in a dramatic montage of fire-scarred relics saved from the pier fire. There’s a burntout go-kart and bits of rusting gaming machines. Above them, a video shows news footage of the blaze.

Across the yard, you can enter Clara’s cottage – the home of a typical Weston family, mothballed from the early 1900s.

Further down the coast, you can sample the Victorian delights of Clevedon, with its magnificent Grade I-listed pier. Built in 1868, it has largely escaped the ravages of time through a novel sponsor-aplank scheme.

From here, follow in the footsteps of Tennyson, Thackeray and Coleridge, along a clifftop poets’ walk, with stunning views of the sea and the Welsh mountains.

No visit to Somerset would be complete without seeing Cheddar Gorge, with its caves and underground cathedrals of stalactites and stalagmites, all dramatically lit for the thousands of visitors who pour into the three-mile-long ravine every year.

The cheese is rather special, too.

But very special was the 90-minute journey on the West Somerset Railway, from Bishop Lydeard to Minehead.

Taking in rolling countryside, dotted with apple orchards and quaint villages, then steaming close to the beaches at Blue Anchor, Washford and Wachet, before alighting at Minehead, it was truly a memorable journey. And the trains are almost all hauled by steam engines.

If you are a garden lover, then a visit to Hestercombe Gardens at Cheddon Fitzpaine, is a must.

Highlights are a Georgian landscaped garden, lying in a “combe” or valley, and created in 1750, and an Edwardian formal garden, created by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The gardens also have an excellent restaurant.

Our accommodation in Somerset also proved memorable.

At Fulford Grange, near the village of Kingston St Mary, former stores executive Steve Jenkins and his wife, Ruth, an ex-teacher, have created a superlative bed-and-breakfast.

Surrounded by beautiful gardens, they have paid great attention to detail in caring for the needs of their guests.

There was home-made yoghurt and damson jam, with local sausages and bacon for breakfast, served in a dining room overlooking sundrenched lawns to the Black Dawn Hills.

We stayed in the Garden Apartment, which also doubles as a selfcatering flat. It was tastefully furnished and decoraret – and very spacious, even boasting a long wooden balcony.

Contrasting, but equally rewarding, were three nights spent at the four-star Cadbury House Hotel and Health Spa, just five miles from Bristol Airport.

Built around an 18th Century house, this largely contemporary hotel is supremely functional with one of the finest health clubs and spas in the country.

A quirky touch was a large print of dairy cows overlooking the kingsize bed in our room.

With beautiful grounds, Cadbury House is an ideal base for exploring the Somerset countryside.