Somerset Day 2023

When is Somerset Day?

May 11 was chosen as Somerset Day to recognise Alfred the Great's march against the Viking army in the Battle of Edington, which is also known as the Battle of Ethandun. In 878, Alfred the Great, the King of Wessex, gathered together the people of Somerset to who defeated the invading Vikings, and Alfred went on to become a dominant ruler.

What else is Somerset known for?

Michael Eavis founded the famous Glastonbury festival in 1970 in Somerset, and wherever we go in the world whilst saying we're from Somerset sometimes garners blank looks in response, "near Glastonbury Festival" always helps!

Somerset is a culturally rich county, filled with over 10,000 listed buildings, over 500 ancient monuments, and 36 English Heritage sites, including, locally, Mulchelney Abbey. The National Trust looks after many Somerset grand houses, including Barrington Court, Montacute and Lytes Cary Manor. And of course it cares for the (in)famous Glastonbury Tor.

Curry Rivel itself has it's fair share of listed buildings with nearly 70; you can search at historicengland.org.uk for individual properties or for Curry Rivel generally.

And then there is our wildlife. Somerset is home to some of the most spectacular habitats in the country, including wetlands at Westhay Moor and Catcott Lows. The rare large blue butterfly and the bittern visit us and of course our murmurating starlings are legendary!You can join in the Great Somerset Wildlife Count – more information at the Somerset Wildlife Trust website here.

And if you want even more, here's a list compiled on Somerset Day 2022 – and quite a lot there is too – click here!

What's not to celebrate!

You can join Somerset's Biggest Ever Quiz on Friday 12th by tuning in to BBC Radio Somerset – get all the information you need to register and take part here.