Eat - Visit - Experience
Focusing on locally source ingredients and well stocked with a selection of local ales, ciders & craft beers on tap & English sparkling wines.
Traditional pub with a modern twist . Fresh food from locally sourced produce. Fine wines, local ciders and real ales.
Indian restaurant / take-away. 12 Silver St, Ilminster TA19 0DJ
Delivery available.​
01460 53110
A lovely village pub, delicious food and a warm welcome for all. Log fires in winter and outside seating in summer. Within walking distance.
Family-run smokery producing the finest hot & cold smoked foods, . Buy from the shop or stop by the café for a light lunch, takeaway or picnic.
Dragon Palace Chinese
Chinese takeaway. 9 East St, Ilminster TA19 0AJ.
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01460 55115
Open log fires, exposed beams and flagstone floors. Welcoming after a big country walk, dogs and muddy wellies are all warmly received.
No, 57 Ilminster
A quirky cafe in East Street, Ilminster. Delicious food and antiques to browse in a cosy atmosphere. Open: Weds-Sat 10 - 4.00pm T: 01460 54856
​Indian, Thai, Japanese, Burger Grill
TA13 5JH, South Petherton, Somerset
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01460 242566
While you're staying at Lower Woodlands, it's well worth driving the 4 miles into our local market town of Ilminster. Here you'll find a lovely selection of small shops and cafes, as well as other essentials such as the Post Office and banks. While there, visit the beautiful Minster church. A small market takes place every Thursday morning.
Lytes Cary (National Trust)
An intimate medieval manor house with a beautiful Arts and Crafts-style garden.
The garden rooms contain a magical collection of topiary and herbaceous borders, while tranquil walks on the estate take you along the River Cary.
To complete your visit, take a stroll among the community allotments and discover their creative and colourful designs.
Discover the earliest English Cathedral to be built in the Gothic style, one of the oldest medieval clock faces in the world, the stunning design of the Scissor Arches, the picturesque and medieval Vicars’ Close, daily tours, and a year-round programme of events and activities.
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Montacute House (National Trust). A masterpiece of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design. With its towering walls of glass, glow of ham stone and surrounding garden, it is a place of beauty and wonder.
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Experience 50 acres of quintessential Somerset gardens, near Taunton. Spanning three centuries of garden design, Hestercombe Gardens offer a unique combination and varied experience of the Georgian Landscape Garden (designed 1750s), the Victorian Shrubbery and the Edwardian Formal Gardens (early 1900s). Also visit the gallery, shops and cafe.
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Lyme Regis boasts breathtaking scenery and a special mystique, making it a sparkling resort for all seasons. Its historic Cobb and harbour are iconic features, set against moody blue cliffs yielding fossilised evidence of life on earth millions of years ago.​Also a vibrant little town with inspiring independant shops and buzzing cafes and restaurants.
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Barrington Court (National Trust). Please note that booking is essential under the current Covid-19 retrictions.
An atmospheric fragment of old Somerset: an empty Tudor manor house, beautifully restored in the 1920s, with farm buildings, abundant flowers and orchards.
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30 acres of award-winning gardens with the highest-powered fountain in England, wildflower meadows, topiary lined vistas, herbaceous borders, arboretum, bog garden, and walled kitchen garden. Meandering pathways with plenty of seating to admire the views along the way. A Gift Shop, Plant Nursery, Pottery, and vaulted Coffee Shop make it a full day out.
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Spend a insightful hour visiting the workshop of Blackdown Shepherd Huts. See where the huts are made and look around some of the many different, individual huts that they design and build.
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Must be booked in advance. Available Monday to Friday only.
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For a unique experience, why not take a short walk into the village of Isle Abbotts and visit our very own miniature steam railway. The engines will take you from the platform for a short ride along a landscaped route through part of the village. The railway is privately owned and has been built and maintained by Martin and Barbara over many years. They will be delighted to tell you about it's evolution - and what a great photo opportunity too!
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Visits are subject to availability and advance booking is essential. A small donation towards the Isle Abbotts church fund would be greatly appreciated.
At the heart of Isle Abbotts lies the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, dating back to the 13th Century with a magnificent tower added around 1510. Major restoration work took place in 2006 and the tower is now restored to its former glory. Well worth a visit.