Glastonbury – Ancient Mystical Town in Somerset

Isle of Avalon - Arthurian Legend and New Age Centre

Nov 1, 2008 Richard Mudhar

Glastonbury is an interesting town with a strong New-Age/Alternative living feel to it, and the pilgrims have been coming to the Abbey and Tor for generations.

Glastonbury nestles on the western side of the Glastonbury Tor, the only high point for miles around. The effect of the light bathing this high point as the sun rises and sets when all around is dark is part of the mystical charm of the town, which has a tradition of attracting visitors of an alternative and New Age disposition. It is also famous of the Glastonbury Festival, an annual music festival held since 1970 at a farm about six miles away.

Glastonbury Attractions

The town is pleasantly compact, and visitors should start from the town centre, near the old Market Cross. Many small shops cluster here, catering for New Age interests, crystals, pagan supplies, incense and alternative therapies. Several of the bookshops cater to these interests almost exclusively, and there are a couple of excellent vegetarian cafes – Gelatea and the Blue Note Café, on the High Street about fifty yards from the Market Cross.

The Tourist Information Centre and Lake Village Museum is pleasantly sited in the Glastonbury Tribunal, a 15th century merchant’s house.

A Sprig of Glastonbury Thorn for Her Royal Highness’ Table at Christmas

The parish church of St Johns was built in the late 1400s. One of the Glastonbury Thorns grows in the churchyard and flowers around Christmas. A sprig of the blossom is sent to the Queen to decorate her Christmas breakfast table each year.

Legendary Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey is about a hundred yards away from the Market Cross along the main road in the other direction from the High Street. This evocative site has a remarkable legend associated, possibly drawn from the 13th century French wirter Robert de Boron’s tale of the Holy Grail, brought by the brother of Joseph of Arimathea to the “vaus d’Avaron” in a distant Western land. Less traceable is the legend that the abbey was the last resting place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, whose remains were “discovered” by the monks in 1191. The abbey is ancient indeed, with the old church rededicated in 166, according to William of Malmesbury’s account in 1130, On The Antiquity of the Church at Glastonbury.

Visit Glastonbury Tor

In the summer months a bus runs from the municipal car park to a stop from which the visitor can ascend Glastonbury Tor by the shortest route. As the highest point in the otherwise flat landscape, Glastonbury Tor offers a fabulous view over the surroundings, all the way to the Mendips in Wales.

Chalybeate spring at Chalice Well

Chalice Well is about three quarters of a mile away, and is a peaceful spiritual haven. Here visitors can sample the chalybeate spring waters that rise from deep within the Tor, flowing at a constant rate and temperature even in droughts. The iron dissolved in the water gives it a very distinctive taste. Chalice Well is a good starting point to climb the Tor by the slightly longer ridge path. On the way to the Chalice Well

The mystical author Dion Fortune who was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn established her Order in 1926 at the Chalice Orchard near the Tor.

GPS location

51.147359N, 2.717976W

Glastonbury on Google Maps

References

The Travellers Guide to Sacred England, John Mitchell, publ. Gothic Image

Glastonbury Millennium Trail information board C at St John's

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