14/04/2026
The Acid guide to Somerset
A county rich in culinary, creative, sporting and spiritual heritage, Somerset is a must-visit for Acid runners.
But before you swap your running trainers for a box fresh pair of Hunter wellies, please be warned that performative counterculturalism will impress no one in Somerset, as they practically invented it.
The Restaurant - Holm
Set in the charming village of South Petherton, Holm is a must-visit on the Somerset gastro pilgrimage.
This striking former Merchant’s House was a Natwest Bank as recently as 2015. A clause in the leasehold states that the ATM remains active for the locals, meaning it sits on the outside wall, and is curtained off inside.
Having at one point maxed out three Natwest overdrafts concurrently, I find this a helpful reminder to order from the more economical end of the wine menu.
Runners from the Acid heartland of CPD (Camberwell/Peckham/Dulwich) will recognise Holm’s quality instantly, as it’s the first rural outing of the team behind Levan.
The £85 tasting menu is perfect for carb & cheese loading, stacked with Westcombe Cheddar fries, agnolotti oozing with smoked ricotta, and celeriac & pickled mushroom on homemade sourdough.
Big hitters then arrive in the form of locally sourced trout and Sherborne Castle venison.
Whisper it quietly, but there is more to the Somerset restaurant scene than fashionable Bruton.
The Gallery - Hauser & Wirth
However, if you do fail to venture further than Bruton for your culinary fix (and no judgement here), then please tie it in with a visit to Hauser & Wirth.
The town’s recent transformation has been heavily influenced by the opening of the gallery’s rural outpost in Somerset in 2014, after founders Iwan and Manuela Wirth,‘the most powerful couple in the art world’first moved there in 2007.
Set in a former farmstead, the gallery is home to a range of exhibitions, performances, and events, as well as gardens designed by landscape architect Piet Oudolf, two restaurants and its own farmshop.
“The ambition from the outset was to increase access to great artists in locations outside of traditional city centres, facilitating a deeper connection to nature, architecture and a slower appreciation of art,”explains Director, Dea Vanagan.
One of the joys of this slower setting is it banishes the pretence that often accompanies contemporary art galleries. This is a safe space to respond to art critically, quizzically, even suspiciously.
But more importantly, with such a diverse set of installations, you are guaranteed to connect with something strongly enough to negate any cider hangover from the night before.
The Cricket Team - Somerset CCC
Supporting Somerset County Cricket Club is to favour aesthetic and character above all else.
The appropriately named “Cider Men” have long embodied a romantic cricketing ideal - elegant stroke makers, inventive spinners, and a willingness to entertain at all times.
The County ground in Taunton is also one of the most charming venues in English cricket. Intimate, atmospheric and refreshingly uncommercial.
Sadly, Somerset are also the nearly men of English cricket, and despite boasting some of the all-time greats over the years, including Botham, Viv Richards & Joel Garner (all at the same time), they have yet to win The County Championship in their 150-year history.
The eternal obsession for that first win unites fans and players alike, and currently sitting top of the league after two games, perhaps this will finally be their year...
The Pilgrimage - Glastonbury
As it’s officially a fallow year for the festival, it feels right to mention the town’s more ancient offering, its spiritual and legendary significance.
Glastonbury Abbey is said to be the oldest Christian foundation in England with origins as far back as the early 7th Century and was a wealthy Benedictine monastery until its dissolution by Henry VIII.
But here’s where it goes off-grid:
Medieval legend suggests that St Joseph of Arimathea, who helped bury Jesus, and who some claim to be Jesus’ uncle, visited Glastonbury in the 1st Century.
When Joseph arrived, he climbed up nearby Wearyall Hill and stuck his stick into the ground for support, immediately prompting the growth of a thorn tree, whose nearby cutting flowers every Christmas.
It is said that Joseph brought with him the Holy Grail, the chalice used at The Last Supper, and containing drops of blood from the Crucifixion.
Local folklore suggests that St Joseph buried the Holy Grail at the Chalice Well near the foot of Glastonbury Tor, with the mythology heightened by the fact that the water looks red and is unusually warm.
King Arthur
Local legend King Arthur then became synonymous with the quest for the Holy Grail, and in 1191 the bodies of Arthur and his queen Guinevere were “discovered” in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, seen as proof that Glastonbury was the location of the fabled Isle of Avalon.
Meanwhile, the area is also a place of pagan worship, with these same wells being significant for ancient (and contemporary!) druids.
There’s even an annual Earth Mother Goddess Conference that includes a procession up the Tor with a statue of the Goddess.
And if that’s not enough, Glastonbury is also said to sit on a major ley line.
If you want to hedge your spiritual bets, you can’t look much further than Glasto.
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