Bicknoller

Bicknoller, meaning Bica’s Alder Tree, sits in the shadow of the Quantocks, right on The Coleridge Way route and offers a sheltered and unspoilt overnight in what is probably the Quantocks' prettiest village. It has a huddle of thatched cottages set in little lanes around its lovely Church of St George. The latter is just off The Coleridge Way route and well worth a look, framed as it is by the heather and gorse covered Quantocks behind its 12th Century Tower,decorated with a variety of gargoyles, angels and rather spooky animal heads (known as Hunky Punks in Somerset). In the grounds you will find a huge ancient yew tree (used for making bows and arrows, said to be over 1,000 years old) and the old village stocks sit underneath this.

If you stay, you will be joining a vibrant rural hamlet who run their own excellent village shop, and when not doing this can be found in the much loved 16th century Bicknoller Inn. A classic Somerset thatched inn, known affectionately here as “The Bick,” this place has stone floored bars with wood burners or open fires, a restaurant serving excellent food.  Pass the evening in time honoured fashion in the adjoining Skittle Alley or on a warm summers night head to the outdoor Boules Piste. For those who prefer a wander before dinner, and the chance to spot some deer, you can head to the ancient Iron Age earthworks of Turks Castle and Trendle Ring, which are just outside the village on the lower Quantock slopes.  If the legs are not up to it, just sit in the cobbled courtyard area and gaze up at the hills over your cider.