There are so many sides to the area that just driving around can fill a day happily enough. Here are a few places to aim for...

The Quantock Hills - The first area in England to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, The Quantocks have a wide variety of features - from deep wooded valleys to wild moorland summits, Iron Age hill forts and Bronze Age burial mounds, and a large population of red deer. The area was home and inspiration to Coleridge and Wordsworth - the cottage where Coleridge wrote 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and 'Kubla Khan' is run by the National Trust.

The West Coast - Miles of beautiful coastline with stunning views, lovely seaside footpaths and some of the warmest waters in the country.

Glastonbury & Tor - If you've got an esoteric streak, this ancient town and iconic landmark are always worth a visit.

Exmoor National Park - The park contains a variety of magnificent landscapes - remote and spacious moorland, heather-clad hills, steep wooded ravines and waterfalls, towering cliffs and rocky headlands.

Cheddar Gorge - A Site of Special Scientific Interest and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, million-year-old Ice Age river beds form a quarter of a mile of cathedral-like caves and Britain's biggest gorge.

And there's Wells Cathedral, the historic city of Bath, Longleat House & Safari Park, Durleigh Reservoir (fishing), Chew Valley Lake (fishing and ornithology), the Somerset Levels and Moors (rich in wildlife), Wookey Hole caves, The Blackdown Hills (another Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), Cricket St. Thomas Wildlife Park, Taunton race track and Somerset County Cricket ground, and if you're coming from the South East, why not go via the A303 and take in Stonehenge...