Glastonbury Tor

As the forecast was rain, I borrowed my sons Severn Bridge TAG to avoid being fleeced, and we headed to Midsommer Norton, Somerset, for no other reason than I liked the name, and we could see some different scenery. After a walk around the town and a cuppa, we headed to Wells.

We've been to Wells before and it's a very beautiful place with a very impressive town centre, despite the rain.

On the way home I sought out Glastonbury Tor. I have walked to the top about 35 years ago, and only driven past it ever since. I stopped in a country lane and took a few photo's and was lucky enough to have the bird fly into the frame. This one was the best of the two I managed to capture with the bird.

Glastonbury Tor is one of the most famous landmarks in Somerset, if not the whole of the West Country. It's not just famous because it can be seen for miles and miles around, but also because it has huge spiritual significance for many people. The conical shape of Glastonbury Tor is natural. Thousands of years ago it was an island. Before modern drainage, the Tor in winter would have towered above the flooded Somerset Levels.

The terracing on the hillside has been dated to Neolithic times, around the same time as when Stonehenge was constructed. It has been suggested that the terraces form a kind of maze that guided pilgrims up the sacred hill. The hill has a long religious history with evidence of Pagan and early Christian settlement on it.If you walk to the top of of it today you will find the partial ruins of a church.

The top of the Tor was levelled at some point in the 10th or 11th century to build a large stone church. In 1275 an earthquake levelled this church. A smaller church was rebuilt on the site in 1323 and lasted until the demise of Glastonbury Abbey in 1539. The church was quarried for stone and now only the tower survives.