This is Somerset --THE long school holidays are an ideal time to take the kids on some outings that will introduce them to a bit of history. There is no shortage of magnificent heritage attractions in our region. The trouble is that many are quite expensive to get into.
So over the summer, Bristol Times will be looking at some of the places you can go and experience our heritage for free, or for a modest admission charge or donation.
We start with Bath – just down the road, with good park-and-ride facilities (much more fun than trying to drive in) and, better still if you are with kids, served by frequent train services from Bristol.
The big attraction in Bath is the magnificent Roman baths (family ticket £35) – but you might not want to go there at the height of the tourist season anyway because it will be packed. Save a trip to the baths for some other time when they are less busy – and get there as soon as they open if you want to have the place to yourselves.
Bath is a great place just for walking around. You can admire the Georgian architecture and watch all the tourists go by. You can also get a free guided tour of some of the city's historic highlights courtesy of the Mayor's Corps of Honorary Guides. These tours start from Abbey Churchyard (outside the Roman baths) daily at 10.30am and 2pm (10.30am only on Saturdays), and 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from May to September. The walk lasts about two hours and no booking is needed. See www.bathguides.org.uk for details.
The Victoria Art Gallery, right, on Bridge Street is open daily except Mondays (afternoons only on Sundays) and admission is free but donations are welcome. If you are into art, this place is well worth a look, with an impressive collection of British and European paintings from medieval times to the present, including works by Joseph Turner, Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Walter Sickert.
Sickert lived in Bath in the later years of his life and some people claim he was Jack the Ripper (there are lots of more-convincing suspects, mind).
The gallery also has a nice collection of porcelain, and some stunning glassware. It also has two galleries for temporary exhibitions or modern work, and regular events, talks and workshops. See www.victoriagal.org.uk for details.
The Holburne Museum at the top of Great Pulteney Street is open daily. There is a hefty charge to get into its big, temporary exhibition for the summer – paintings from the Royal Collection, well worth it if you can afford it – but admission to the permanent collection is free.
The Holburne, left, is the museum of all things artistic and decorative from Bath's Georgian golden age. It really does put you in touch with the tastes and passions of wealthy people in the 18th century. But even if you are not into history you can admire all the beautiful things in it, from the paintings – including some by Gainsborough – to the porcelain. See www.holburne.org for details.
For the star-struck, there is Bath's Movie Map which points out notable film and television locations in the city. Almost all of them are costume dramas, although there are – parents note – some locations used in the Harry Potter films. Download a PDF at tinyurl.com/ylkkrkw and print it out – or get it on your tablet – and away you go.
The Visit Bath website has free audio tours for download to put on your MP3 player. See tinyurl.com/77r6xlu for details.
There is no shortage of free attractions in the towns and countryside hereabouts.
The region's most famous lump of heritage, Stonehenge, is all very well, but it is expensive to get into, and is always overrun with tourists.
So for an alternative, how about Avebury? The famous stone circle at Avebury, near Marlborough in Wiltshire, is open all the time, and can be explored for free.
On a good day, this is one of the most magical outings in all of England.
The stone circle, which encompasses part of the picturesque village of Avebury, is enclosed by a ditch and bank and approached along an avenue of stones.
Nearby are such ancient sites as the West Kennett long barrow and the eerie, manmade Silbury Hill. Be prepared to walk if you want to get the most out of the site. There is not much in the way of trees or shade, so it is best avoided on very hot, sunny days.
To help you make sense of it all, the village also boasts the Alexander Keiller Museum and Barn Gallery (open daily). There is an admission price for this – but £12.25 for a family ticket is not too painful, and is well worth it.
The village also boasts Avebury Manor (for which there is also an admission charge), once home of the playboy marmalade millionaire Alexander Keiller, who sponsored a lot of early archaeology and restoration of the stones. See www.nationa- ltrust.org.uk/avebury for details.
Glastonbury is a good day out, especially if you bone up on its history and legends first so you have some yarns to tell the kids. It was a spiritual centre to our pagan ancestors and would go on to become one of the cradles of English Christianity.
Indeed, you could say that this is the cradle of the English nation itself. Not only is it associated with legends of King Arthur but it was a few miles from here, at Athelney, that King Alfred burned the cakes and went on to raise an army, defeat the Danes and forge a unified Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
A family ticket to the famous Abbey ruins – www.glastonburyabbey.com – is £18. But if you cannot stretch to that, you can climb the tor for free. Here you get great views over the Somerset Levels.
Glastonbury also boasts the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Chilkwell Street. This is open from 10am to 5pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays as well as bank-holiday Mondays. Admission is free.
Housed in a medieval barn that once belonged to Glastonbury Abbey, this place shows what life was like on the Somerset Levels in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of it is through displays on the life of 19th-century farm labourer John Hodges and his family.
As well as displays on farming, there is information on peat cutting, withy growing, and cheese and cider making. Outside, there is an orchard with beehives and rare breeds of sheep and poultry.
It is well worth checking the website when planning a visit as it has a lot of child-friendly activities going on over the summer. See tin- yurl.com/2uk3qlw for details.
If you fancy a bit of exercise and a trip to the beach, then Brean Down is a good prospect. This is the big lump of rock sticking into the sea just south of Weston-super-Mare and has a rich history going back to Roman times.
The climb to the top might be a bit of a strain for some older folk, and it is definitely not wheelchair friendly.
For everyone else, though, the reward for the walk up to the top and then to the end is a fascinating bit of military history. The ruined fort was built in the mid-19th century at a time when Lord Palmerston believed the French were thinking of invading.
It then enjoyed a new lease of life in the Second World War as a coastal-defence battery. But it was also twinned with Birnbeck Pier in Weston as a secret research facility where the boffins mucked around with clever new weapons, including bouncing bombs. This was less glamorous than you might think – a major part of the job involved firing, dropping or throwing things into the sea, and then wading out into the mud at low tide to retrieve the assorted projectiles.
You do need to make an early start though, as during the season the whole coast south of here is packed with holidaymakers in caravans and holiday homes, and the narrow road can get congested.
As you are walking along the top of the cliff, keep the dog on a lead – and look after small children.
Back down at the bottom there are cafes, including the National Trust's Cove Cafe, and a small tropical-bird garden. The latter is owned privately and is open daily during the season – there is an admission charge.
And there is the lovely, long, sandy beach at Brean to play on. See www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brean-do- wn for details. Reported by This is 2 days ago.