The Historic Houses & Heritage of Somerset

Day 1 – Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village

Board our private executive coach at your preferred pick up points – visit a carefully selected National Trust property en route such as Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village near Bath whose fine abbey, founded in 1232, has survived largely intact and Victorian woodland garden includes an 18th century summer house and rose garden – check in at the 4* Mercure Hotel in Bridgewater.

Day 2 – Tyntesfield & Cheddar Gorge

The National Trust’s Tyntesfield property is an extraordinary Gothic revival extravaganza whose original Victorian interior survives intact and with an unrivalled collection of Victorian decorative arts, an insight into below stairs and a sumptuously decorated private chapel, all surrounded by landscaped gardens, park, farmland and estate buildings – the cathedral like caves at Cheddar Gorge are million year old Ice Age river beds.

Day 3 – Wells & Shepton Mallet Prison

A guided tour of Wells, the smallest city in England, takes in the famous Gothic cathedral with its fine medieval statuary, stained glass, chapter house and astronomical clock, the 13th century Bishop's Palace and the Vicar's Close, a complete medieval street – during a guided tour of the Victorian prison wings, the Hard Labour Yard, the old Gate Lodge and the execution room at Shepton Mallet Prison, the UK’s oldest prison, reveals what life was like for prisoners and officers.

Day 4 – Sheppy’s House of Cider & West Somerset Railway steam train

A guided tour and tasting at Sheppy’s House of Cider leads us through more than 200 years and six generations of the Sheppy family making real premium craft cider – a nostalgic 20 mile steam train excursion from Bishops Lydeard Station to Minehead on the West Somerset Railway through the stunning Somerset countryside and coastline.

Day 5 – Dyrham Park

Built between 1692 and 1704, the National Trust’s Dyrham Park contains fine textiles and paintings, as well as items of Delftware, reflecting the contemporary taste for Dutch fashions.