Safest Neighbourhoods in Castle Cary (and Areas to Avoid)
South Somerset, the Mendips, and the Glastonbury area
Castle Cary sits at the geographic centre of one of England's most underrated tourist regions — South Somerset, the Mendip Hills to the north and the Somerset Levels to the west, with Glastonbury, Wells, Bath and Bristol all within easy day-trip range.
- Wells (20 min drive north-west) — England's smallest city, the magnificent 12th-13th-century cathedral, the Bishop's Palace with its moat and swans, Vicars' Close (the oldest continuously occupied medieval street in Europe). The default day-trip.
- Glastonbury town (25 min north-west) — the Tor (the mythic hill with the ruined St Michael's Tower at the top), the Abbey ruins (legendary burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere), the alternative-spirituality high street with its crystal shops and pagan bookstores. Distinct from the festival, which actually happens at Worthy Farm in Pilton, ~10 min south of Glastonbury town.
- The Newt in Somerset (4 miles south of Castle Cary, near Bruton) — luxury hotel and gardens at Hadspen House, with cider production, kitchen garden tours and a £25 day-pass for the gardens. Bruton itself is the gentrified Somerset village (Hauser & Wirth gallery, At The Chapel restaurant).
- Stourhead (25 min south-east, in Wiltshire) — National Trust 18th-century landscape gardens around a Palladian house, one of England's most photographed garden landscapes especially in autumn.
- Bath (45 min north) — Roman Baths, Royal Crescent, the Jane Austen Centre, the Thermae Bath Spa rooftop pool. Major day-trip; see our Bath guide.
- Bristol (50 min north-west) — Clifton Suspension Bridge, the SS Great Britain, the harbourside, Banksy's hometown street art. Larger urban day-trip.
- Cheddar Gorge (35 min north-west) — limestone cliffs, the famous show caves, walking on top of the gorge, cheddar cheese tasting.
- Mendip Hills AONB — protected hills running across north Somerset, walking on Crook Peak and Black Down.
- Worthy Farm (Glastonbury Festival site) — ~10 minutes by shuttle from Castle Cary station during festival week. Otherwise functioning farm; no public access outside festival.
- Yeovil (15 miles south) — larger commercial town, Yeovil District Hospital A&E is the nearest emergency department to Castle Cary.
- Frome (30 min north) — the artsy market town with the famous Frome Independent Market on the first Sunday of the month.
Live Castle Cary safety score (updates daily) →