The Glastonbury Experience: Witches, Warlocks and Wells

Glastonbury is a beautiful small town in the Sommerset region of England and was the location of our most recent adventure!  There are so many reasons to visit Glastonbury - both for what it offers now, and also for what it offered in the past.....(insert mysterious music here)...

The best way to describe Glastonbury is that it is a New-Age town and attracts new-agers and people with neo-pagan beliefs and interests.  It is by far unlike any place I've ever been, the surrounding landscape, the high-street (which the kids and I thought felt like Diagon Alley), the people, and its history. 
Glastonbury is said to have been the site of the ancient isle of Avalon.  The site where Joseph of Arimathea drove his staff into Wearyall Hill and a Thorn tree grew.  Many of the thorn trees in Glastonbury have in some way come from graftings of this original thorn tree.  He also is said to have burried the Holy Grail near/in Avalon. Then enters the Arthurian emphasis of the area (my personal favorite!) as King Arthur and his quest for the Holy Grail.  Arthur was then mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlan by Mordred and burried at the Glastonbury Abbey along with Guinevere. 

We stayed at a fantastic place called Middlewick Farm http://www.middlewickholidaycottages.co.uk/ which I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to explore the area.  We had a lovely little stone cottage called "The Pippin" which was an old converted barn.  Each morning, the owner would meet the kids outside to go and collect the freshly laid eggs from the Hen House.  So fresh, they were still warm (and a touch poopey)!!  We finished our long days off with a swim in the indoor pool and an indulgent massage in the pamper cabin.

Our first morning we set off on a long hike up to the top of Glastonbury Tor.  The walk began in the orchard at our farm and passed through some lovely countryside and farm fields.  We then came to the site of 2 ancient oak trees.  We've all seen pictures of majestic old cedars from western Canada right?  Bah!  These two trees were beleived to have been planted by the DRUIDS (over 2,000 years ago)! Probably not the original trees but in druid times, the druids would replace dying oaks with the seedlings grown from it. Now, picture how old a druid would be.  Now look at how old these trees look:

Gog or Magog - Ancient Oaks

The Tor is a huge hill on top of which sits St. Micheals tower - the remains of a medieval church.  It is also home to Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies. This is just one example of the many overlaps between Christianity in the area and the pagan beliefs of the old religion. 

Glastonbury Tor

Our stay up at the top was cut short by really strong winds that I was sure were going to sweep the children up and blow them all the way to fairy-land, and by some approaching rain clouds. 





We then walked down into the town of Glastonbury and decided to start at the Chalice Well, one of Britain's most ancient wells.  To be honest, I thought it would be a quick stop - arrive, see the well, make a wish and leave.  However, this site ended up being one of my favorites!  The brochure stated that the well "is a living sanctuary in which the visitor can experience the quiet healing of this sacred place. For over two thousand years this has been a place where people have gathered to drink the waters and find solace, peace and inspiration".  Sounds cool, right?  The gardens were unbeleivable - filled with giant Yew trees and flowers of all sorts. The gardens were also filled with those seeking the above experience so we had to make sure the kids stayed somewhat quiet.  Everywhere you turn someone was nestled into a little quiet garden nook.  Our kids were mostly interested in the water.  After several sips of well water, Rowan turned to me and whispered "Mommy, I think I feel younger"....

The Vesicus Pisces with staff going through.

After the well, we decided to head up high street and have lunch and check out the shops.  I have been in countless New-Age shops over the years and love every bit of them.  But Glastonbury is for hard-core new agers!  Rowan begged me to buy a cauldron, but I settled for a Green Man wall hanging.  The children had lots of questions about what they were seeing and it was a fantastic opportunity to teach them about these earth-based religions. 

Our last site was the Glastonbury Abbey (originally built in 600) and is the earliest Christian Sanctuary in Britain.  Obviously now it is a collection of ruins but still quite magnificient when you think of how long it would have taken them to build these structures.  Again, we encounter Arthurian legends here as this is where Arthur and Guinevere were burried, dug up in 1191 and entombed in the chapel (in the presence of King Edward the 1st). After the dissolution of the monastaries in the 15th Century the tomb was taken and no one knows where it is...



Arches at the Abbey ruins

If you are going to drive to Glastonbury, try to work in a visit to the nearby city of Wells.  Complete with a lovely cathedral, Bishops Palace and Vicar's Close (my fav) - the oldest and continously inhabitated medieval street in Europe.  On our way home, we drove via the Cheddar Gorge (yes, where Cheddar cheese originated!).  We had planned a great hike to the top of the gorge but got completely rained out!  We settled on a scenic drive through the gorge and a stop at the Cheddar Gorge Cheese company where we learned how cheese is made and indulged on some delicious samples! 

Where will our adventures take us next I wonder...

Sweet Flower-Girl

"Mommy, I'm a Green Man"

Love