FRUGAL FUN IN SOMERSET – A GUEST POST

Today’s Travel Tuesday guest post highlights frugal fun in Somerset! This post comes from Kelly, who has blogged for the last 8 years and has run her current blog www.thekellydianereport.co.uk for the last 3 years.

Originally focusing on beauty, books, fashion, and lifestyle-related content, she has recently expanded this to include cooking, crafting, and home décor. Kelly’s blog is a representation of herself and showcases all the things she loves in the format of reviews. 

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Looking back, we have always been a frugal family. When I was younger, we had limited money for luxuries and instead used to find cheap or free things to do. This has been instilled in me and to this day, I don’t like spending huge lots of money on days out.

I have always been taught that I can have a fun day out, whilst still being frugal. I thought I’d share some ideas of what you could do if you visited my local area. You might even be able to apply these to your area too!

For those of you who don’t know, I’m Kelly and I grew up and still live in a place called Somerset which is in the south west of England. I am very privileged to be surrounded by countryside as well as so much history.

When you look up Somerset on Wikipedia, it says it’s a rural county of rolling hills as well as large flat expanses of land. What it doesn’t mention is that there are some beautiful towns and villages, and so many other attractions too. Let me tell you about some of them…

Walk along the canal

This is one of my favourite things to do and I’ve done it for as long as I can remember. I love watching the canal boats go up and down, watching as they open and close the locks and just generally enjoying the wildlife that can be seen.

As well as this you could also pick blackberries to take home with you or collect conkers and other treasures. I normally do this and make a seasonal wreath, although the autumn months are the best for doing this.

Visit the Museum Of Somerset

The museum is situated in the 12^th century great hall of Taunton. The museum is run by an independent charity and whilst it is free to enter, they do ask for a small donation to help towards running costs. The castle itself is steeped in history and over the years has been host to various exhibits.

You can find out what life was like for the people of Somerset from prehistoric times, to the present day by looking at various artefacts from toys and sculptures to natural history and pottery. The castle, as well as the town itself played a vital role in the Monmouth Rebellion, a huge turning point in British history and you can find out why inside.

The museum is also home to the Somerset Military Museum where you can find out about the fortunes of the Somerset Light Infantry as they carried out their campaigns across the world.

Take part in a circular walk

Wrap up walk, put on some comfortable shoes and download a map from Somerset tourist information. There are plenty of different walks and trails to choose from, including my favourite the heritage trail. Enjoy being out in the fresh air whilst discovering historic sites and properties that you would otherwise ignore.

Go to the beach

Somerset is home to some beautiful coastal towns and beaches, with my favourites being Kilve and Watchet. Even though the weather is colder now, I love nothing more than wrapping up warm and heading off to walk along the beach and around the pretty harbours.

Visit Landmarks

Somerset is home to some great landmarks which are free to visit. Two favourites of mine are Glastonbury Tor and Wellington Monument. Both have walks to get to them, although be prepared for it to be muddy in the winter months.

Both of them also have a lovely view and on a good day, you can see for miles. Another place I love to visit is the picturesque Wells Cathedral, which is free to enter, although they do ask for donations to help with running costs.

Ferne Animal Sanctuary

Whilst Ferne is firstly an animal sanctuary, they do allow visitors to come and see the animals. Entry cost is currently £4.95 per adult and £3.95 whilst there are family passes and other offers on Groupon too. It is still much cheaper than visiting other animal parks and zoos but you can have just as much fun and if you plan on visiting regularly, you might want to buy annual passes which are great value for money.

There is a café, playground, and gift shop on site although the playground is currently closed to comply with covid guidelines. There are over 300 resident animals for you to see although they don’t offer petting or feeding the animals because most of them have come from difficult circumstances, with some needing strict diets.

So there we have it. Six frugal activities that you could do in Somerset. Whilst there are so many more that I could have mentioned, I feel that these would be suitable for most ages, so you should find something for everyone.

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