North West Somerset

Axbridge is a charming market town at the foot of the beautiful Mendip Hills, near to Cheddar, with a character all of its own. Once part of a Saxon defence system against the Viking invaders, its history goes back to King Alfred's time.

In the middle of the moors and the heart of some of the country’s best diary pasture, the village or Isle of Wedmore is slightly raised; having been built on stone that was not scoured away by the rivers when the sea water receded. The elevation gives dramatic views of the distinctively lush landscape backed by the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The ‘bridge’ in the name of this town gives a clue to its influence in the days when transport by water and rail was more common than today when the motorway takes most of the traffic. Highbridge, as a market town, grew up around the bridge over the Brue and served numerous communities including those on the nearby peat moors.