Somerset benefits from hills and moorland, flatlands and coast and so is ideal for enjoying a whole host of leisure activities, both energetic and sedentary. There is superb walking within easy reach of the hotel as well as excellent golf courses, sea and river fishing and coastal and reservoir sailing. To the south is the South West Coast Path overlooking the spectacular East Devon heritage coast. Even Lyme Regis and the Jurassic Coast is only 45 minutes drive away. Away from the towns and the motorway, driving in Somerset can be a real pleasure.
However, if you’d like excitement without expending too much energy, the The Castle Hotel is near Taunton Racecourse or enjoy a day watching first class cricket at Somerset County Cricket Club. The Taunton Vale Polo Club is just outside Taunton and is the second oldest polo ground in England and Bridgwater Carnival, the largest and best illuminated procession in the world, is within very easy reach.
If you remember the days of steam trains, then you might like a nostalgic trip on the West Somerset Railway, Britain’s longest preserved railway line. Nostalgia of a more thrilling kind is not far away at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.
The dramatic Exmoor coastline offers some excellent bathing beaches, the best of which is a low tide beach at Greenaleigh Point, an area of National Trust coastline about a mile west of Minehead Harbour. It’s a huge stretch of sand with excellent surf on a northerly or westerly wind, exposed two hours after high water until two hours before.
Sea fishing is possible from beaches at Berrow, Blue Anchor, Minehead and Porlock Bay and we can arrange trout and salmon fishing for you on the River Exe and other Exmoor rivers. Camel Trekking has to be one of the finest ways to admire the Somerset countryside, particularly the Wordsworth country of the Quantock Hills. The Somerset Levels, are flat and eerily beautiful providing splendid opportunities for cycling. For golfers, we would recommend the nearby Taunton and Pickeridge, which dates back to 1892 when the course was created from an old calamine mine. However, there are also classic links at Minehead and Chard, and there’s also the aptly named Windwhistle course near Chard. Gliding lessons are available at Dunkeswell Airfield in the Blackdown Hills.
Somerset is also for those who love driving at a leisurely pace along empty country roads, especially on Exmoor and on the Levels.
A number of riding centres offer hire facilities, tuition and organised trekking for both beginners and experienced riders. One of our favourites is Porlock Vale where Britain's Olympic team once trained and which has direct access to the glorious wooded combes along the Exmoor coast.
This part of the West Country is excellent shooting country, especially for pheasant and partridge. Given the hotel’s location in the region, it’s hardly surprising The Castle at Taunton is a favourite hotel for shooting parties, especially those visiting the nearby Chargot shoot in Somerset and the Molland shoot in Devon. |
