Venues in Somerset; hire a Jazz Band
Ashburton
An attractive little town on a steep hill, in a setting of moorland and woods. Gabled houses, Regency villas, and the River Ashburn add to the charm of a place that is lively but not loud, restful yet not a museum-piece. The church's grey stone tower is one of the most handsome in Devon. About i mile to the north is Boro Wood Camp, an Iron Age hill-fort overlooking the River Dart.
jazz bands at Ash House Country House, Yeovil, Somerset
jazz bands at Batch Country Hotel, nr Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
jazz bands at Bath Priory Hotel, Restaurant & Spa (The), Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Bath Spa Hotel, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Battleborough Grange Hotel, Brent Knoll, Somerset
jazz bands at Beachlands Hotel, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
Buckfastleigh
Benedictine monks spent 30 years building the cathedral-size Buckfast Abbey, a mile north of the village. It was completed in 1938 Outside, the local limestone glows in the sunshine; inside there is rich modern stained glass, designed and made by the monks. At the nearby shop the monks sell their tonic wine and honey.
Buckfastleigh is the northern terminus of the Dart Valley Railway, privately run by steam-engine enthusiasts. Regular services from Easter to September take passengers to Totnes and back through a superb 7-mile stretch of the Devon countryside alongside the Dart.
jazz bands at Bindon Country House Hotel, Wellington, Somerset
jazz bands at Cadbury House, Bristol, Somerset
jazz bands at Centurion Hotel, Midsomer Norton, Somerset
Buckland Monachorum
Buckland 'of the monks' is a pleasant village with some 17th-century cottages. The abbey, founded in 1278, was converted into a mansion in tS4i and bought by Sir Francis Drake in 1581. It is now a maritime and folk museum, with relics of Drake.
jazz bands at Charlton House, Shepton Mallet, Somerset
jazz bands at Cliffe Hotel, The, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Combe Grove Manor, Bath, Somerset
Chagford
The name comes from Old English, meaning a ford in gorse-covered country. Chagford was a Stannary town until the late i6th century. Today it is a popular centre for touring northern Dartmoor. It has Tudor and Georgian houses and a 16th-century bridge over the River Teign. North-west is Gidleigh, w ith the remains of a small castle; the surrounding area is rich in prehistoric stone circles. Scorhill, west of Gidleigh, is one of the finest circles on the moor.
jazz bands at Commodore Hotel, Kewstoke, Somerset
jazz bands at Cricket St Thomas, Chard, Somerset
jazz bands at Farmers Arms, Taunton, Somerset
jazz bands at Farthings Hotel, Taunton, Somerset
jazz bands at Frome Rugby Club, Frome, Somerset
Dartmeet
The most famous beauty spot on Dartmoor, where the East Dart and West Dart rivers meet near the road from Ashburton to Two Bridges. A 'clapper' bridge, a rough-stone bridge typical of the West Country, crosses the bubbling, boulder-strewn East Dart a little way upstream from the modern bridge.
jazz bands at Glastonbury Town Hall, Glastonbury, Somerset
jazz bands at Halsway Manor, Crowcombe, Somerset
jazz bands at Haselbury Mill, Crewkerne, Somerset
jazz bands at Haynes Motor Museum, Yeovil, Somerset
jazz bands at Holiday Inn Taunton, Taunton, Somerset
Lydford
This secluded village is dominated b; the remains of its castle, which was built in 1195 to house offenders against forest and Stannary laws. T.ydford Gorge offers a dramatic walk beside seething waters, through overhanging woods.
jazz bands at Il Tocco D'Italia Restaurant & Bar, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Kildare Lodge, Minehead, Somerset
jazz bands at Lansdown Grove, The, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Leigh Court, Bristol, Somerset
jazz bands at Limpley Stoke Hotel, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Little Barwick House, Yeovil, Somerset
jazz bands at Lordleaze Hotel, Chard, Somerset
jazz bands at Lyngford House, Taunton, Somerset
jazz bands at Manor Hotel, The, Yeovil, Somerset
Moretonhampstead
A small market town with some fine old buildings. Of special interest are the two-storeyed granite almshouses dated 1637. This is a good centre for exploring the eastern part of Dartmoor. To the north-west of the town are the remains of Cranbrook Castle, an Iron Age hill-fort 1100 ft above the River Teign.
jazz bands at Mendip Lodge Hotel, Frome, Somerset
jazz bands at Mill, The, nr Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Old Mill Hotel, The, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Pavilion, The, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Royal Hotel, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
jazz bands at Rumwell Manor Hotel, Taunton, Somerset
jazz bands at Shrubbery Hotel, Ilminster, Somerset
jazz bands at Somerton Court, Somerton, Somerset
jazz bands at Ston Easton Park, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Swan Hotel, The, Wells, Nr Bath, Somerset
North Bovey
This is one of the prettiest villages in Devon. Its green is flanked by thatched stone houses; the church stands on a knoll above an 15th-century cottage
now serving as a shop and post office. Grimspound, 3 miles to the south-west, is the site of a Bronze Age village, and has well-preserved remains of 24 huts. Grim was one of the names of Woden, god of the Anglo-Saxons, whom ancient legend credited with the building of many such prehistoric sites.
jazz bands at Theatre Royal, Bath, Somerset
jazz bands at Tone Dale House, Wellington, Somerset
jazz bands at Walnut Tree Hotel, Bridgwater, Somerset
jazz bands at Walton Park Hotel, Clevedon, Somerset
jazz bands at Webbington Hotel, nr Axbridge, Somerset
jazz bands at Wells Town Hall, Wells, Somerset
jazz bands at Woodlands Hotel, Brent Knoll, Somerset
jazz bands at Yarlington House, Wincanton, Somerset