With its honey-colored stone buildings and famous Market House standing proudly at its centre, Castle Cary makes an impressive impact on the first time visitor.
Its shops are clustered around the Market House, adding to the appeal and making it a great destination for a spot of window shopping.
First though, it’s worth visiting one of the town’s iconic buildings. Just up the hill from the Market House is a small circular tower, the Round House, an old lockup prison dating from the 18th century. You can borrow the keys from the information office in Market House and look inside. It’s one of only 12 such buildings in the country and you can even get married there.
Not far away is another impressive building from 1767, which houses the Post Office and next door is a lovely library, a pretty little building which, since threatened with closure in 2018, is now run by volunteers as a community library.
The town has a thriving bookshop, the Bailey Hill Bookshop, which is one of many independents in the town and has been around for more than 40 years. To have so many truly local shops indicates that the town’s retailers are doing an impressive job and fighting back against online competition. The bookshop for example, as well as being staffed by knowledgeable booksellers, can order a book for overnight delivery.
Another long-running business is Needful Things. Although it has a Georgian façade, the shop is in a building that dates back to 1633. It used to be the old bakery and has a pretty courtyard at the back.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2020 من Somerset Life.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2020 من Somerset Life.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Up on the Down
Try this easy-to-follow Exmoor walk with SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE
Shop until you drop
It’s Somerset’s county town, it’s the place to go for the big shops, but Taunton is also home to a thriving independent scene, discovers CATHERINE COURTENAY
Creatures of the night
Have you ever had something swoop past your ear, almost unseen? You may have had a brief encounter with a bat, says BERNARD BALE
Bowled over
Now that we can return to skittle and bowling alleys - albeit with new rules BERNARD BALE reveals that the sport of bowling has many Somerset links
Trackway through time
In the Somerset Levels SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE discovers a place where our Neolithic heritage rubs shoulders with the present day
SAVING THE SPLENDOUR OF EXMOOR
The splendour of Exmoor National Park may appear timeless and untroubled, but a new book reveals the long and often bitter struggle conservationists faced to save the landscape from the twin threats of afforestation and the plough
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
Charity starts at home
How do we teach our children the importance of giving back?
Blooming brilliant
Will and Lauren Holley purchased a four-acre field in Somerset, converted it into a nursery, opened during lockdown and now their perennial plants are flying off the shelves. JULIE HARDING meets the go-getting couple
Age-old advice
Just become a grandparent for the first time? Perhaps you need a little guidance, so here are some top tips about how to embrace your new family role
