The Somerset Portal

Somerset (help·info) is a county in the south-west of England. The county town is Taunton. The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is also partly bounded to the north and west by the coast of the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the River Severn.

Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills such as the Mendip Hills and Exmoor National Park, downland, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels. (more about Somerset...)

  

Selected article

Exmoor National Park is a national park situated on the Bristol Channel coast of South West England. 71% of the National Park is located within the county of Somerset and the remaining 29% is in Devon. The park, which includes the Brendon Hills and the Vale of Porlock, covers 267 square miles (692 km²) of hilly open moorland and 34 miles (55 km) of coast. It is primarily an upland area with a dispersed population living mainly in small villages and hamlets. The three largest settlements are Lynton and Lynmouth, Porlock and Dulverton, which together contain almost 40% of the National Park population.

Prior to being a park, Exmoor was a Royal Forest and hunting ground, which was sold off in 1818. Exmoor was one of the first British National Parks, designated in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act,^[1] and is named after its main river, the River Exe.

Several areas of the moor have been declared a Site of Special Scientific interest due to the flora and fauna. In 1993 Exmoor was designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. (more about the Exmoor...)

  

Selected picture

Palladian Pulteney Bridge on the River Avon at Bath Credit: User:MichaelMaggs

Bath is a small city in Bath and North East Somerset, United Kingdom most famous for its historic baths fed by three hot springs.. (more about Bath...)

  

Selected biography

Bill Bailey (born 24 February 1964, Bath, Somerset) is an English comedian, actor, and musician known for appearing on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI, Have I Got News for You, and Black Books as well as his stand up comedy. He is a self proclaimed "confused hippy" known for his thin goatee and skullet hairstyle.

Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, in 2003 and in 2007 he was voted number seven on Channel 4's hundred greatest stand-ups... more about Bill Bailey...

  

Did you know...

• ...that Simonsbath on Exmoor is the largest parish in Somerset covering 56 square miles (145.0 km²) but only has 75 houses?
• ...that Hadspen House has been owned by the family of Henry Hobhouse since 1785?
• ...that a bronze bowl from the Iron Age Glastonbury Lake Village was made from the remnants of two separate vessels, before it was deposited in the peat?
• ...that St Andrews Church, Chew Stoke (pictured) includes 156 statues of angels?

  

Districts of Somerset

1. South Somerset
2. Taunton Deane
3. West Somerset
4. Sedgemoor
5. Mendip
6. Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
7. North Somerset (Unitary)

  

Somerset news

In 2006 Gareth Woodham, a businessman from Neath in Wales, submitted plans to Sedgemoor District Council in the name of Combined Innovations Ltd for a barrage from Brean Down near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, to Lavernock Point near Cardiff.

On 1 October 2007, the UK's Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) published a report looking at the potential of tidal power in the UK. John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, announced a further feasibility study on 25 September 2007 to follow on from the report by the Sustainable Development Commission. The proposal for a hydro-electric barrier to generate 8.6 GW and meet five percent of Britain's power needs, is being opposed by some environmental groups. more about Severn Barrage

  

Related portals