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The Tor bus takes you quickly and easily up to Glastonbury Tor (where parking is not available).
From St. Dunstans Car Park by the Town Hall the service operates along Magdalene Street, Bere Lane, Chilkwell Street,
Coursing Batch, Ashwell Lane and Basketfield Lane to the Tor.
Your ticket entitles you to travel as many times as you like on the day of purchase and you can use the service
to visit both the Somerset Rural Life Museum or The Chalice Well, both of which are situated along the route.
Why not take the bus to the Tor and walk down to the town centre on foot? This is a very pleasant descending walk
via Bushy Combe and Dod Lane.
In the Abbey Farmhouse the social and domestic life of Victorian Somerset is described in reconstructed rooms and an
exhibition which tells the life story of a farm worker, John Hodges, from the cradle to the grave.
The magnificent 14th century Abbey Barn is the centrepiece of the Somerset Rural Life Museum.
The barn and the farm buildings surrounding the courtyard contain displays illustrating the tools and techniques
of farming in Victorian Somerset. Unusual local activities like willow growing, mud horse fishing, peat digging and cider making
are included.
Admission is Free
Christian mythology suggests that Chalice Well marks the site where Joseph of Arimathea placed the chalice
that had caught the drops of Christ's blood at the Crucifixion, linking the Well to the wealth of speculation
surrounding the existence of the Holy Grail. The red of the water is also said by some Christians to represent
the rusty iron nails used at the Crucifixion. Frequent events are held in the grounds of Chalice Well including
annual celebrations for the winter and summer solstices. The gardens are open every day of the year.
Glastonbury Tor is a landmark for miles around. It features the roofless St. Michael's Tower.
The site is managed by the National Trust.
Tor is a local word of Celtic origin meaning 'conical hill'. The Tor has a striking location in the middle of a plain
called the Summerland Meadows, part of the Somerset Levels. The plain is actually reclaimed fenland out of which
the Tor rose like an island, but now, with the surrounding flats, is a peninsula washed on three sides by the
river Brue. The remains of Glastonbury Lake Village were identified in 1892, showing that there was an Iron Age
settlement about 300-200 BC on what was an easily defended island in the fens. Earthworks and Roman remains prove later
occupation. The spot seems to have been called Ynys yr Afalon (meaning 'The Isle of Avalon') by the Britons,
and it is believed to be the Avalon of Arthurian legend.
(Please note there are no public conveniences at the Tor.)
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