Castle Cary and District Museum

Castle Cary itself is a proper Somerset market town with actual character - narrow high street, decent pubs, that sort of thing. The museum sits right there in the town centre and does what local museums do best: tells you who lived here and why it mattered. You're looking at Roman finds, medieval bits, agricultural tools, the usual Somerset social history. It's the kind of place where you spend an hour learning about the town's wool trade and suddenly understand why the buildings are what they are.

Historically minded visitors will find it worthwhile, especially if you're already spending time in Castle Cary itself. Families with primary-school-age kids will get something out of it on a rainy afternoon, though teenagers might fidget. It's free, which helps.

The real advantage is location. Hadspen Glamping sits barely a mile away - close enough that you could visit the museum before breakfast and still have the whole day ahead. Long Hazel Park and Sunnyhill Campsite are only slightly further out, making Castle Cary a natural morning stop if you're basing yourselves at any of the three. Combine it with a walk around the town itself and lunch at the Crown, and you've got a solid half-day sorted. Don't expect anything flashy - this is local heritage done plainly and earnestly, which is exactly what it should be.