Glastonbury Tor

The Tor is a hill of clay and blue lias capped by hard sandstone, rising 158 metres straight out of the flat Somerset Levels, which were marsh and seasonally flooded until drainage, making it effectively an island; that is the likely origin of the Isle of Avalon identification, along with a twelfth-century claim by the abbey to have found Arthur's grave. Seven terraces circle the hill and their purpose is genuinely unresolved: agricultural strip lynchets, cattle tracks and a ritual processional maze have all been argued and none proven. The tower is all that remains of St Michael's church, whose nave fell in an earthquake in 1275 and whose rebuilt successor was demolished at the dissolution, when the last abbot was hanged, drawn and quartered on the hill.

The main sights

• The roofless tower - St Michael's, all that survives of a medieval church.
• The seven terraces - unexplained rings around the hill.
• The Levels view - flat drained marsh spreading in every direction.
• The Somerset mist - the Tor standing above cloud on autumn mornings.

When to go

April to October for the climb; autumn mornings when mist fills the Levels and leaves the Tor as an island are the classic sight and the reason many come. Sunrise on the summer solstice draws a large gathering.

Things to know

The climb is steep and exposed with no shade, and the summit is genuinely windy in all seasons. There is no parking at the foot and the walk from town adds twenty minutes each way. The tower is an empty shell.

Nearby

Glastonbury Abbey and the Chalice Well are in the town; Wells and the Mendips lie north.

Key facts