Give me a lovely village or town in Somerset or nearby

[anyideasonthis]

Please tell me your secret (or not so secret) gems of places!! We're moving house, 2 young dc, and want to live in a village or near smallish town with a fun, friendly vibe. Arty and down to earth too if that's not too much to ask. We have always lived in places with not much sense of community, and would love to have that.

Don't like Bruton
It's phoney

Love
frome
Bourton on water
Axminster

Bradford-on-Avon is in Wiltshire and not Bath & North East Somerset. It's definitely in the area you are thinking about though. It's a really nice town and has good schools.

Frome is great.

The outskirts of Bath & villages around are nice but you pay a premium. Good schools though!

There are lots of nice villages in B&NES and Somerset but the nicest ones, especially with good access to Bristol, are more expensive. Chew Magna is great with a fab secondary but pricey. There are lots of very pretty villages in the Chew Valley.

In South Glos I like Thornbury but don't know if it's 'arty'.

Frome- grew up there and WAS a bit of a dive but NOW it's very up and coming, regular markets, arty, fun loving, good pubs/ restaurants etc ! And my mum/grandparents/friends live there!!!! (Obviously a reason for you to move there 😂😂) We visit often !!!!

In the other breath can I also suggest Newent, Gloucestershire. Nice picturesque little town/village. Local produce, annual onion festival. Approx 12 miles off m5 to Bristol :)

Bit Bruton. Initially seems nice then you realise it is so bloody boring and a little try hard.

Frome and Wells have things going on but will be pricey house wise.

Glastonbury if you want alternative ways. It has a very high crime rate though.

Street is very good for families. I lived there for 2 years and although it isn't especially pretty there is enough to do.

Finally Ilminster is a hidden gem. It is active as well as traditional. Still has things like a butcher and cheese shop. Also had a good and active arts centre and a cute theatre. About 5 pubs but with varying niceness.

Bruton - yes v dull and try hard.

Agree with pp about Axbridge. The whole of the Cheddar Valley is nice in fact, great school catchment. The other villages such as Shipham, Draycott and Wedmore are nice too, especially Wedmore - we lived there for a few years before dh’s job took us away.

It’s arty and quite cool in a traditional yet quirky way, with great pubs and an array of community events such as the Beer Festival, Christmas market, The Turnip Prize (google it), the annual opera, arts week, and the summer street fair among others. It’s seen as a bit poncy but it’s actually quite down to earth really; ex-city folk rub shoulders quite happily with generations of local farmers. Good ofsted-outstanding catchment to the Hugh Sexey Middle School, and the primary and senior schools are good too however we only really experienced a couple of yrs of the primary and then most of the middle school.

However it’s seen as quite exclusive; house prices are astronomical compared to the rest of Somerset; it ranks as one of the most expensive places to live, especially if you want one of the more central period homes. That said, the community spirit is great and I would move back there in a heartbeat.

Definitely check out Frome, it's very much as you've described in your post. Only downside is property is going up in price there because a lot of people are moving there from London etc (not sure why).

Stroud is very arty and edgy but is a town not a village.
Wotton-under-edge is nice. It has an independent cinema and pool.

The more commutable to Bristol it is generally the more expensive it is
I grew up in the Chew Valley which is very pretty and an easy journey to both Bath & Bristol but is very expensive now - the traffic into the cities was also always a bit of a nightmare.
My parents moved over the water to villages near Chepstow to get more for their money - this may get more expensive when the bridge tolls disappear at the end of this year.

Glastonbury is full of drugged up hippies, Street is where their dealers live.

And throwing a curve ball here- if you want to be rural but within reach of Bristol why not consider Chepstow or Monmouth?

Glastonbury isn't very nice. Nor is Street. I agree Ilminster is nice and also Somerton - lovely town with butchers etc

If considering up to Gloucestershire, Cam is a wonderful place with a good sense of community, lots of arty things going on (I run a studio there). Well worth considering.

I vote for Watchet. It's got a fossil hunting beach, nice harbour, steam train line. It's arty and has a lovely community feel to it (everyone knows everyone else's business ). Some of the nearby villages are very sweet too, like Dunster and Washford.

It's around 30 minutes from Taunton (which is also lovely) and the M5, 10 minutes to the gorgeous beach at Blue Anchor and about 15-20 minutes to Minehead.

Another vote for Ilminster and its handy for the A303.
If I didnt love where I do live in Somerset, Ilminster would be my second choice.

I'll back the Wedmore and Watchet recommendations.

If you want to be close to Bristol look at the Chew Valley area.

@Slatternsdelight what made you cry with laughter about Wells?

Thornbury is nice. NOT Cam or Dursley - really no especially if you have teens. We did bad bad things due to lack of stuff to do.

Stroud certainly arty but my dad thinks it's possessed. Also no train to Bristol and you have to go m5/m32 if commuting which is a ballache.

I have a friend in Wells who adores it with a family of pre teens/young teens and she commutes to Bris every day. A couple of mates in portishead with young families who love it but neither are arty.

Her sister has younger kids and likes Shepton mallet as it's more affordable. Also have workmates who grew up in Chard and midsummer Norton with family still there. Both v fond but their teenage stories are similar to mine.....

I live in Wilts but close to the Somerset border.
I'm not a big fan of Frome, never worked out the draw but I know it's very popular and the prices are far higher than in our area just a few miles away.
Bradford on Avon is lovely and expensive but gets very snarled up with traffic, not that much there but pretty and very close to Bath.
Not much at Bruton.
I like Wells but again relatively pricey for this general area. If we go to Wells we usually nip into the big Tesco at Shepton Mallet on the way home as we don't have one locally. This time we thought we'd have a look at the High Street. Sorry but what a dive, we were back in the car in no time and on our way!
Lots of lovely villages around this area but shopping is really Bath.

Axbridge
Wedmore
Hazlebury plucknet ( has a great cricket ground). Not to far to Yeovil or crewkerne , ham hill .

Watchet is a bit far out. Exmoor is very rural and takes ages to get anywhere. Beautiful though.

Another vote for Ilminster here!

Wedmore or Axbridge get my vote.

Frome, Wedmore,Somerton all fit your bill. All not too far from other larger towns. Shepton Mallet is dire, and Briton as pp say is trying too hard and not actually any substance to it.

Definitely Bruton or Frome. Bruton is smaller and has a lovely villagey feel whilst still having lots of cool things going on. Frome is like a bigger version but as a large-ish town obviously not as tight-knit.