Most individuals have heard of Glastonbury due to the world-famous annual music and artwork pageant that takes place right here within the English countryside, nonetheless not many individuals know that Glastonbury is definitely a small historic market city deeply rooted in fantasy and non secular significance.
Folks journey from all around the world to go to this mystical land, an lively vortex recognized to be the guts chakra of Mom Earth. If that is information to you, I extremely advocate trying into it earlier than your journey so as to add some depth and a few context to the choices, outlets and conversations you will see right here in Glastonbury. Suppose crystal outlets, divine union choices, historic holy wells and tarot readers galore.
I’ve lived in England my entire life and by no means fairly made it to the city or the pageant and so i used to be very excited, and curious, to lastly plan a visit and see what this pocket of England is all about.
If you happen to’re trying to find the very best issues to do in Glastonbury for a visit that blends out of doors journey, beautiful English countryside, and real non secular depth, you’ve landed precisely the place it’s essential to be. Glastonbury is among the most mystical locations in Britain, and I’ve executed the analysis for you and can share the very best locations for brunch in Glastonbury, the very best espresso in Glastonbury and all the very best issues to do in Glastonbury on this information.
Let’s tuck in, we could?
The place Is Glastonbury?
Glastonbury is a small city in Somerset (South West of England), roughly two and a half hours from London and forty minutes from Bristol. It sits low within the Somerset Ranges, a flat, watery panorama that floods in winter, which is strictly why the city’s most well-known landmark, Glastonbury Tor, is known as it’s personal island, towering above the personal on a hill which you can not miss. In truth, legend holds that this was as soon as actually true (it was an island) and Glastonbury is extensively recognized because the legendary Isle of Avalon, the resting place of King Arthur and the positioning the place Joseph of Arimathea is claimed to have introduced the Holy Grail.
Finest Strategy to Get To Glastonbury
Glastonbury has no prepare station of its personal, so the simplest worldwide route is to fly into Bristol Airport (about an hour’s drive) or London Heathrow/Gatwick (round two and a half to a few hours by automobile). If you happen to’re travelling by prepare, the closest stations are Citadel Cary or Bristol Temple Meads, each linked to Glastonbury by native bus or a brief taxi journey.
IMO driving is genuinely one of the best ways to discover the broader space, it means you’ll be able to discover different close by cities and English countryside gems while you’re at it like Stonehenge, Bathtub and Cheddar Gorge. A cease off in Glastonbury generally is a welcome boost to a Cornwall street journey in the event you’re travelling from the London space.
The place to remain in Glastonbury
If you happen to’re mapping out how lengthy to remain in Glastonbury it helps to know that a lot of the finest issues to do in Glastonbury (the issues on this information anyway) together with the Tor, Chalice Effectively, the White Spring, the Abbey, and the Excessive Road outlets – all sit inside a fifteen-minute stroll of each other, so you’ll be able to undoubtedly do Glastonbury in a day in the event you’re pushed for time. Park up your automobile, get some comfortable strolling sneakers on and also you’re set.
When it comes to accomodation, base your self within the city centre if you wish to stroll to the Tor, Chalice Effectively, and the outlets with no need a automobile every day. There are boutique B&Bs and guesthouses dotted across the Excessive Road and Chilkwell Road. If you happen to’re after a quieter, extra rural keep, take a look at farmhouses, cabins and glamping websites within the close by fields and lanes.
I discovered this epic cabin pictured beneath. The cabin couldnt be in a greater location for exploring the very best issues to do in Glastonbury and it even has views of Glastonbury Tor, from the bed room home windows and deck!! It’s additionally only a stone’s throw from the well-known Chalice Effectively. The cabin has simply been rebuilt to a really excessive normal, it’s gentle and ethereal and has a full outfitted kitchen and loo. Extremely advocate.
One of the best time to go to Glastonbury?
Glastonbury is a year-round vacation spot, however every season has a special character. Late spring and early summer time (Might to June) deliver milder climate, blossoming orchards, and lengthy daytime ultimate for dawn or sundown hikes up the Tor. These prolonged daytime are additionally superior for squeezing all the pieces in. In Juy after I visited it stayed gentle till like 9.30pm!
Late September into October rewards you with golden autumn gentle over the Ranges and thinner crowds. Winter is misty, atmospheric, and genuinely magical for anybody drawn to the non secular facet of / a pilgrimidge in Glastonbury. Although be ready for rain and dirt on the paths – it’s England in any case.
Journey tip:
Keep away from the city throughout Glastonbury Competition week (late June) except you’re headed to the pageant itself, as lodging books out and the city will get busy.
Stroll Up Glastonbury Tor at Dawn or Sundown
Of all the pieces on this record of the very best issues to do in Glastonbury, that is the one to prioritise. Don’t you dare overlook about it!
The only finest out of doors expertise on the town is strolling up Glastonbury Tor, the hill you’ll discover as you drive into this historic market city. Topped by the roofless tower of St Michael’s Church and plenty of guests, seen for miles throughout the Somerset Ranges.
The Tor is managed by the Nationwide Belief and has free, open entry always, making it good for a dawn or sundown climb. There’s no automobile park on the Tor itself, so park on the pay-and-display on Chilkwell Road and stroll up by way of Effectively Home Lane, passing Chalice Effectively on the way in which.
The 360-degree view from the highest over the English countryside, Chalice Hill, and the city beneath is among the most rewarded viewpoints in the entire of Somerset.
Go to the Goddess Temple
Tucked simply off the Excessive Road within the Glastonbury Expertise courtyard, the Glastonbury Goddess Temple is a free, donation-based sanctuary devoted to the Divine Female. It’s open to guests day by day from 12pm to 4pm they usually additionally maintain occasions, meditations, healings and different choices right here so regulate their occasions calendar when you understand your Glastonbury dates.
The house is adorned with seasonal altars that shift with the Wheel of the Yr, making each go to barely completely different in the event you return. It’s a beautiful addition to a day wandering the busier Excessive Road outlets. A possibility to pause, pray and honour the Goddess (if thats your factor).
Enjoyable reality: the Temple was formally recognised as an official place of worship in 2003, one of many few within the UK devoted to Goddess spirituality.
P.s. there’s a cool store beneath the Goddess Temple with an epic e book choice, potions and cheeky lingerie!
Seize Brunch at FARA
For the very best brunch in Glastonbury, head to FARA on Benedict Road. So many individuals really helpful this place to me! Sadly there was an hour wait on meals after I arrived and I didn”t have time to cease and check out the Mediterranean and Center Jap dishes but when the candy treats have been something to go by!!!
The cafe is a vivid, relaxed house with a stunning backyard shaded by an outdated oak tree so in the event you love a vibrant salad, healthful soup, mezze fashion plates, freshly made toasties, alongside a robust give attention to plant-based and gluten-free choices made with domestically sourced components – you’ll LOVE it right here.
FARA is persistently one of the crucial talked-about spots for brunch in Glastonbury amongst each locals and guests, so arrive early on weekends to seize a desk within the backyard.
Wander the Retailers in City
No record of the very best issues to do in Glastonbury is full with out merely getting misplaced on the Excessive Road, which is in contrast to wherever else in England, and sits only a quick stroll from Glastonbury Tor itself. Unbiased outlets promote crystals, tarot decks, important oils, and handmade artwork, alongside power healers, aura photographers, and psychics providing walk-in readings. Most outlets open round 10am and shut by 5 or 6pm, so a late morning stroll works properly. The spotlight is just the ambiance — incense drifting from doorways, chimes in store home windows, and a real sense that this city takes its spirituality severely reasonably than as a vacationer gimmick. Enjoyable reality: Glastonbury has one of many highest concentrations of impartial non secular and holistic outlets per capita of any city within the UK.
Espresso, bakes and folks watching at Finca
For an excellent espresso in Glastonbury, sit outdoors at Finca on Market Place, proper within the coronary heart of city. Many locals will inform you it’s merely the very best espresso in Glastonbury and I can verify the espresso was on level! It’s additionally a beautiful inside and the proper spot to have a relaxation and folks watch.
Finca is a specialty espresso roaster with a rotating number of single-origin beans, so the espresso modifications with the seasons. Finca roasts all its personal espresso throughout its personal roasteries in Dorset, and solely ever makes use of specialty-grade beans of 80 factors or greater — a giant a part of why it’s thought-about the very best espresso in Glastonbury by so many regulars, and an ideal follow-up in the event you’ve simply had brunch in Glastonbury at FARA or fancy a choose me up earlier than you climb the Tor.
Go to the Chalice Effectively Gardens
On the foot of Glastonbury Tor, together with the White Springs, sits Chalice Effectively Gardens, a World Peace Backyard constructed round considered one of Britain’s oldest holy wells, typically known as the Chalice Springs. The Chalice Springs have flowed constantly for hundreds of years and are thought-about one of the crucial sacred water sources within the nation.
The gardens are open day by day from 10am to 4:30pm, with final entry at 4pm.
You pay, I believe £5-6 to enter and you may re-enter together with your ticket on the identical day in the event you want to return. Put aside at the very least an hour to meditate by the wellhead, benefit from the gardens, journal, and take a drink from the red-tinted, iron-rich spring water on the Lion’s Head fountain.
Enjoyable reality: the chalybeate spring water flows at a continuing fee of roughly 25,000 gallons a day and has by no means as soon as failed, even in extreme drought.
Dip within the White Spring
Instantly throughout the lane from Chalice Effectively is the White Spring. A Victorian constructed Effectively Home nestled beneath Glastonbury Tor now a temple in gratitude for the spring’s pure water and non secular significance. Many see this water because the Divine Masculine, and the Chalice Effectively the Divine Female however its inspired to really feel into the power to your personal interpretation.
The White Spring is volunteer-run and free to enter however it does have fairly particular opening hours Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 1:30pm to 4:30pm and Saturday, Sunday 1pm – 5pm. All the time verify present instances earlier than visiting as i’d hate so that you can be disapponted!
That is the spring you’ll be able to bathe in and you’re welcomed to dip within the recent (chilly) springs nude in the event you so want. Telephones and images are strictly prohibited to guard the sacred ambiance. Carry a towel if you wish to absolutely immerse your self and one thing heat to pop on after – possibly even a cup of one thing sizzling!
Inside you’ll even have the chance to sit down, pray and make choices to Goddesses: Brigid, the Celtic hearth goddess and Black Madonna.
Go to Glastonbury Abbey
Simply off the Excessive Road, Glastonbury Abbey is the atmospheric wreck stated to be the earliest Christian basis in Britain. Since Medieval instances the Abbey has held legendary standing because the earliest Christian basis in Britain, linked to Joseph of Arimathea and the burial place of King Arthur, and was as soon as the richest monastery in England on the finish of the Saxon interval, second solely to Westminster.
Take an hour or two to wander the ruined arches, the Girl Chapel, and the spot marked as King Arthur and Guinevere’s grave. If that is your jam, deliver a picnic blanket with you and benefit from the extensive lawns are top-of-the-line picnic spots in Glastonbury on a sunny day.
Opening hours fluctuate by season:
- 9am to 4pm January and February
- 9am to 6pm March by means of Might
- 9am to 8pm June by means of August
- 9am to 6pm September and October
- 9am to 4pm once more in November and December.
Past the city
Past the city centre, Wearyall Hill specifically is a quieter, less-visited spot with sweeping views again towards the Tor, and a favorite for a sundown picnic away from the crowds.
For an extended countryside stroll, the Somerset Ranges stretch out towards the Avalon Marshes and the Ham Wall nature reserve, flat, simple trails ultimate for birdwatching (look out for starling murmurations in autumn and winter).
If you happen to’re road-tripping by means of the broader space, Wells (with its cathedral) and Cheddar Gorge are each underneath half an hour away and pair superbly with a Glastonbury base for an extended countryside journey.
A at some point itinerary for Glastonbury:
- begin with espresso in Glastonbury at Finca
- stroll the Excessive Road outlets
- drop right down to Chalice Effectively and the Chalice Springs for quiet reflection
- dip within the White Spring
- have brunch in Glastonbury at FARA earlier than wandering the Abbey grounds
- climb Glastonbury Tor at golden hour.
Sure you’ll be able to completely do Glastonbury in a day. Higher nonetheless, you’ll be able to see all of the finest issues to do in Glastonbury in a single, unhurried day by foot.
Additional ideas for visiting Glastonbury
- Put on correct strolling sneakers even for a “fast” journey up Glastonbury Tor. The paths are steep and could be muddy or slippery, particularly outdoors summer time.
- Carry a reusable water bottle to fill on the Chalice Springs and White Spring fountains, and pack a picnic blanket, for the reason that Abbey lawns, Chalice Effectively meadow, and Wearyall Hill are all very good picnic spots with views.
- Save room for a second spherical of espresso in Glastonbury or a leisurely brunch in Glastonbury in your final morning. There are such a lot of yummy spots to take a look at!
Have you ever been to Glastonbury?
What are the very best issues to do in Glastonbury? Something you’d add to this Glastonbury bucket record?