Holiday in Somerset with no car?

[violetbloom]

We don't drive but would really like to take dd along to Cheddar Gorge and surrounding area this summer. Any ideas where we could stay with easy access to public transport? I've been looking at cottages online but all seem to need a car.

many moons ago we went to minehead by coach. the national coaches all stopped at bridgewater and then got the local bus.

not sure if thats still the case but guess bridgewater might be a good starting point for investigating bus routes.

We live in Weston-super-Mare, there are lots of buses that go to/through cheddar. You can then go to Wells, or Brean Down (lovely beach)

Brean is full of holiday caravans/cottages. Banwell is lovely (where I used to live) good buses or Axbridge? You could always get the train to weston then easily bus or taxi it? Where are you? If you tell me where the cottages are I can tell you if they are in themiddle of no-where or easy to get to!!

Thank you carrielou. I'll take you up on that offer of help if you don't mind as I'll be cottage searching this evening... ?

brill

I am finding this hard! I think I need to buy a good map of Somerset.

How would we be placed in:

Compton Bishop
Burnham on Sea
Draycott
Braunton

And what are any of these places like?

I can't find a good website for searching for cottages in Brean, Banwell or Axbridge. But I'm still trying!

Thanks again .

B-o-S is the only one with a bit nearby though it is a small place, nice beach everywhere else really in middle of no-where so v hard without car...

Thanks, I'll keep searching I think!

I live in Burnham. Have a look at our towns website. It's the first entry on a google search for the town's name. There are lots of listings for accomodation etc and it will give you a feel for the place.
Burnham on Sea is a town right on the coast with reasonable public transport links. There is a station at Highbridge which is a small town with not a lot in it but connects onto Burnham. There is enough to do in Burnham to keep you busy along with a few day trips out.
There are plenty of B and Bs and some holiday cottages in Burnham. Even more abundant are the campsites and holiday villages of caravans.
From Highbridge station you could have days out via train, either go north towards Bristol or south towards Exeter. There are a couple of buses so you can get to Weston, Taunton or Wells and places on route. I think you have to change buses, maybe in Wells to get to Cheddar but the Wells bus does go to Wookey Hole.
Draycott and Compton Bishop are nice little villages, but I'm not sure about public transport, it might be a bus a couple of times a day. Have a look at the First bus website, I think we come under the Bristol and Somerset area.
If you do visit the beach at Burnham, Brean or Berrow or anywhere on this stretch of coast please be aware of the situation with the tide. The tide goes out a long way to reveal mud flats. Nearly everyday in the summer the rescue hovercraft has to go out to rescue people who have wandered onto the mudflats either by accident or by ignoring the warning signs. You can only swim or paddle two hours either side of the high tide. At any other time it is just too risky. A small girl died a few years ago.

Thank you dinasaw, that's really helpful information. If we wanted to stay somewhere with easy bus links to Cheddar / Wookey Hole etc., is there anywhere closer? I'm wondering if we wouldn't be better just staying in Cheddar itself, but then would we be able to travel out from there to other places okay?

I would say yes, easier to stay in Cheddar or the next villiage along is Axbridge. Plenty of buses go through Cheddar to weston/Bristol/Bath/Wells. There is not much there itself, a nice chinese takeaway, tesco metro, bank, post office, lawn mover shops (don't ask!) few nice pubs??

www.cheddarvillage.co.uk/Transport/index.htm

This website shows bus services in cheddar. The first bus site only shows the 126 which goes from Weston super mare to Wells and stops in Cheddar. I think another company may operate another service. Perhaps Webberbus?

Wells is lovely but might cost a bit for accomodation. I will have a think for accomodation ideas in the area.

What sort of things are you looking to do on holiday?
Wells is worth a day out, lovely cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, some shops with nice cafes for lunch.
Glastonbury is good too. It's well worth a walk up the Tor and a visit to the Rural Life museum. You can also hippy watch in the High Street!
I've never been to Wookey Hole, but have heard it is a good day out, children love it but it is pricey.
I've never properly been to the caves in Cheddar Gorge but again have heard they are good. Visit the sweet shop where you can watch them make sweets. There are some good walks around the Gorge, look online for the footpaths. A couple of companies offer climbing training if you want to learn rock climbing.
I shall keep thinking! I'm not going on holiday this year so it is nice to offer someone else ideas.

Thank you both. It's our first holiday in two years and we're scraping finances together for it a bit!

We want to do things like go to the gorge, visit Wookey Hole, probably visit Glastonbury. I'd like to take dd to something totally child oriented - she's into adventure playgrounds and anything to do with animals (almost 8 years old). I guess a day on a beach would be nice if it's sunny.

We're on a small budget so won't probably get to eat out much. Packed lunches and dinners at home. It's more nice day trips that we're after.

We live in central London so fresh air and beautiful sights are much needed.