Thirsty? Is yours a cocktail or a mocktail? Well, you can have both in the plush surroundings of Somerset's beautiful cocktail bar, The Somerset. It was great to spend some time there and around the historic market town of Ilminster last week, for my 'big night in' on BBC Radio Somerset. The bar is part of Alice Temperley’s Phoenix Studios and I caught up with Bar Manager, Tom Powel, to make some delicious mocktails... and also with Mark Cresswell, who has joined with Alice t

Normally we plan in where to go and who to write about (we've got a pretty impressive blog calendar if the truth be told ;)), but recently we’ve had a little flurry of just popping to places on the off chance... without really thinking about the blog, or about taking photos or writing it up! ;) I know!!! As we’ve been out and about quite a bit though, I thought I'd share three of the best with you really quickly – so there’s not necessarily the usual glut of original pics, bu

Happy World Book Day! From events across the country, to dressing up as your favourite character (we *might* have a Gruffalo costume in the drawer somewhere), this is one of those celebrated days we love - definitely more than 'National Static Electricity Day' anyway! I promise that does exist and we also missed national 'Step in a puddle and splash your friends day'. That was January 11th, honest! ;) Anyway, our tradition on World Book Day is to take some time out, sit down

What makes a great tea room, coffee shop or somewhere to grab a spot of lunch when you’re out and about? A place with amazing homemade cakes and savouries? Fresh Cappuccino made by people who genuinely understand coffee quality? A beautiful building to while away the hours in? Somewhere bright and beautiful that’s dog friendly too? (woo hoo!) Well, if you’re in Dunster and this sounds like your idea of heaven, pop by Chapel House Tea Room on West Street…  because not only hav

If you read the blog regularly, you’ll know we flipping love animals (understatement of the century), but what should you do if you ever find sick, injured or orphaned wildlife in Somerset? Who you gonna call? (We’ll give you a clue. It’s absolutely not Ghostbusters! ;)) Secret World Wildlife Rescue is the brilliant charity to contact if you suspect an animal or bird is injured, or needs help. The team is here 365 days a year to ‘rescue, rehabilitate and release’ our wildlife

Do you photograph Somerset professionally, just for the sheer love of it, or both? :) Have you got some awesome shots of our stunning county that you'd like to share with a wider audience in a gallery setting? If you have, then here's an opportunity to grab with both hands... because to celebrate Somerset Day on May 11th, we're curating a photography exhibition with Somerset artist Donna Vale, at her lovely gallery 'For Every Cloud' in Langport. Donna recently completed a com

I ran a marathon once. Long, long time ago now and all I can say is that it definitely would've been a lot more fun with cider... so, when we heard about The Ciderthon - a half marathon happening in Somerset at the end of April, that combines running and cider tasting - our ears definitely pricked up! :) To find out more about this brilliant (and slightly bonkers) challenge, we caught up with Ciderthon creator Nikki Hawkes and asked her four questions we thought you'd love to

What are you having on your morning toast? Honey? Marmite? Strawberry Jam? Well, we’re having marmalade. Paddington would be proud… and it’s not just any marmalade either. It’s handmade by the Queen of Preserves – Francine Lee from Bumblee's :). Fran creates the most gorgeous artisan marmalades, jams, vinegars and chutneys right here in beautiful Somerset and now we’ve tried them, basically there’s no going back! We spotted some of Fran’s preserves in the Hauser & Wirth shop 

We're always on the look out for something a little bit different and we always keep our eyes open for art in unusual places, so this week our heads were well and truly turned by a unique exhibition of textile art. No... it's not in one of our Somerset galleries. It's actually in Yeovil Hospital and that meant we just had to catch up with artist Rebecca Bruton, to find out more about what she's created there - and to ask her some other juicy questions as well! ;) Rebecca's pa

2018 brings a new arrival to the blog - oh yes! We’re starting a series of features called ‘Six of the best’ and our first one (spread over two parts) is dedicated to six brilliant creative workshops in Somerset. In here, you'll find lots of fab stuff to try your hand at across our county, whether you live here or are just visiting - we’ve been up and down the length and breadth of it over the past few months, seeking out the very best of the best things to try. So, if you fa

Friday night's a big night in Somerset and this week, it's an even bigger night if you're a Glovers fan! Manchester United are coming to town... to Yeovil Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and it's going to be unmissable. The match is sold out, it's on BBC 1 at 7.30pm  if you haven't got a ticket and as it's Round Four, we thought it'd be great to do a Four Thoughts interview with the club before Friday night's showdown. Yeovil Town's Press Officer Alex O’Loughlin stopp

We’ve never had our home flooded – thank bleep! And we’ve never had to experience something as shattering as the Somerset floods of 2013/14. The unrelenting rain gave new meaning to the word torrential. The most rain we’ve had in England for 230 years saw the Levels become lakes, businesses ruined and communities frightened for their safety… with some trapped, then evacuated and unable to get back into their homes for months and months on end. It was a controversial moment in

Meet this (not so) little chap. A Whooper Swan. Absolutely beautiful isn’t he? Well, before last week we had no idea these stunning creatures existed, let alone that they could be seen in Somerset if you know where to look – or more accurately, if you have an expert to show you! ;) We discovered a whole ‘bevvy’ of Whoopers visiting from Iceland and so much more, when we went out onto the Levels on a wildlife tour with brilliant guide Stephen Hembery of Wildlife Somerset. Step

A few weeks ago, our head was well and truly turned. By Ted. He stole a piece of our heart too… but don’t panic, you haven’t accidentally stumbled across our other 'secret romantic confessions' blog (that doesn’t exist, you’ll be relieved to hear) ;). Ted is actually a truly amazing Shepherds Hut, nestled in the stunning Somerset countryside of the Mendip Hills, just outside Wells. He’s a very special rural retreat and a bit of a mystery too, as there’s no sign and definitely

We love adventures and we love tea parties (especially when there’s shed loads of cake involved!), so I guess we were always going to get on like a flipping house on fire with Jo Payne - the awesome designer/maker behind the brilliant brand 'Adventures & Tea Parties'. Jo’s stuff first caught my eye on Instagram. Her feed is so full of colour, life and happiness and I really look forward to seeing what she posts in the mornings... to kick start my day with an injection of all

A little while ago, I fell in love with this beautiful design... by the light of a silvery moon. It's magical, right? I'd spied it on Instagram and as well as putting it on my wish (upon a star) list, I knew I needed to chat to the awesome maker who created it - and to find out a bit more about her. So, this Four Thoughts is dedicated to Gemma Atwell - the Bath-based, Somerset cool creative behind The Silver Shed. Here's what Gemma had to say when we asked her four questions

Ahh – cheese, glorious Cheddar cheese! Nothing quite like it, right? We’ve flirted with Stilton, had our heads turned by Brie, but Cheddar absolutely has our hearts. So, if we could, we’d probably bear hug the guys who discovered the unique method of production ‘Cheddaring’ and invented the first Cheddar cheese, in the Somerset village of Cheddar in 1170! Well, wind the clock forward a few hundred years and today, there’s only one team of cheesemakers creating authentic Chedd

The Ethicurean isn’t exactly a Somerset secret anymore. The restaurant’s received tons of accolades, Michel Roux Jr made a Summer visit here for Channel 4’s Hidden Restaurants and the guys (self-taught Chefs Matthew and Iain Pennington), have just launched their first pop-up residency - on the rooftop of Oxford’s Street’s John Lewis. Get ready for some stunning West Country flavours, London! ;) Anyway, with all that going on, you could say the word is most definitely out… but

Got a cuppa? Sitting comfortably? Ready to join us on a journey through Glastonbury legend and mystery, all wrapped up in some beautiful art? OK - let’s do this! Before we start though, those three things in the title might sound like a random list that’s just popped in to my head, but trust me – by the end of this blog, it’ll all make perfect sense ;). A little while ago, I met up with Somerset mosaic artist Kate Rattray. Well actually, I was lucky enough to spend an afterno

Here’s one for you! It’s about our day at Toby Buckland’s Garden and Harvest Festival, a few Sunday’s ago. If you remember, we had a chat with the man himself before the event - and it’s no secret we’re massive fans of Forde Abbey - so we were pretty curious to see what a two-day garden fest with over 150 exhibitors and makers (plus tons of talks and workshops), would be like in the gorgeous grounds there. It was also our first festival that had anything to do with gardens, g