Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, with about 9,000 inhabitants, that holds a special place in the British imagination. According to legend the mythical isle of Avalon lay here, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are buried here, and Joseph of Arimathea arrived here with the Holy Grail. Today it is the spiritual capital of English alternative and New Age culture, and its name is known worldwide thanks to the country's most famous music festival.
The Tor
Glastonbury Tor, 158 metres high, rises alone above the flatlands of the Somerset Levels, once marshy and flooded in winter, so that the Tor looked like an island. On top stands the tower of the medieval church of St Michael, which collapsed after an earthquake in 1275. The climb takes about twenty minutes and rewards you with a 360-degree view, splendid at sunrise and sunset. For many the Tor is a place full of energy, linked to legends of fairies, entrances to the underworld and magical lines said to cross the landscape.
The abbey and Chalice Well
Glastonbury Abbey was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England. In 1191 the monks announced that they had found the graves of Arthur and Guinevere in the cemetery, a discovery that attracted pilgrims and donations. In 1539 Henry VIII dissolved the abbey and had the last abbot executed on the Tor. Today its majestic ruins can be visited in a large park, with the site of Arthur's supposed tomb and the perfectly preserved Abbot's Kitchen. At the foot of the Tor, Chalice Well is a spring with reddish, iron-rich water set in a peaceful garden, linked to the legend of the Grail; in the town also grows the Holy Thorn, which according to tradition sprang from Joseph of Arimathea's staff and flowers at Christmas.
The town and the festival
The High Street is full of shops selling crystals, esoteric books, incense and colourful clothes, alongside vegetarian cafés and temples of various spiritual traditions. The Glastonbury Festival, founded in 1970 by the farmer Michael Eavis, does not take place in the town but on his farm at Pilton, about ten kilometres away. Every June it welcomes more than 200,000 people for five days of music, theatre and art, and it is one of the most important live music events in the world. Roughly one year in five the festival takes a break to let the fields rest, as in 2026.
Practical information
Glastonbury has no railway station: it is reached by bus from Wells, from Castle Cary station or from Bristol, or by car. It combines easily with a visit to Wells, with its cathedral, and to Cheddar Gorge.
See also Tintagel, in the footsteps of Arthur and Bath.