Bridgwater

The twice-yearly Guy Fawkes Carnival here draws 100,000 spectators to what might otherwise seem an unremarkable Somerset market town. But that would be selling Bridgwater short.

This ancient port on the River Parrett has a proper working-class grittiness that feels refreshingly honest. The Admiral Blake Museum celebrates the town's most famous son - a Parliamentary naval commander who gave Cromwell's fleet its teeth. Walking the old docks area, you get a real sense of how important this place once was for Somerset's agricultural trade.

Stogursey Castle lies eight miles west - a crumbling Norman gatehouse that's worth the short drive for its lonely hilltop position. Much closer to town, All Saints' Church dominates the skyline with its distinctive red sandstone tower. The building's medieval origins shine through despite Victorian meddling.

Romantic poets had a thing for this corner of Somerset. Nether Stowey, just six miles south, houses Coleridge Cottage where Samuel Taylor Coleridge penned 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. The village itself feels frozen in time, all thatched cottages and narrow lanes.

For something completely different, Oatley Vineyard produces surprisingly decent English wine on south-facing slopes near Cannington. Their tours run most weekends during summer.

Bridgwater sits at the junction of the M5 and A39, making it dead easy to reach by car. The train station connects directly to London Paddington via Reading. Staying at one of the nearby parks puts you within striking distance of the Quantock Hills to the west and the Somerset Levels stretching eastward - two landscapes that couldn't be more different if they tried.