glastonbury tor the site of the isle of avalon

The views alone from the top are worth a bit of lung-heaving. The latter route is a concrete path, easier in wet weather, and less steep or you can do a circular walk, up one way and back the other. From there, you can either head roughly east along Dod Lane and follow the footpath, or take the path off Wellhouse Lane, close to the Chalice Well. Find Chilkwell Street, the A361 to Pilton (see map below). There is no option but to leave your transport somewhere in Glastonbury itself and proceed on foot. Closer by, if you’re travelling by road, it seems to disappear as you approach the town. One thing we do know for sure is that Glastonbury Tor was where the last Abbot of Glastonbury was cruelly executed.Įven for an old sceptic like me, seeing Glastonbury Tor for the first time can be a magical moment an instant where you take a sharp breath and think, “Oh, there it is.” The Tor ( tor is an ancient word meaning ‘rocky peak’) can be seen from miles away, standing proud in the landscape it has dominated since time out of mind. The song Jerusalem is said to have been based on a legend that Jesus visited Glastonbury as a child. On nearby Wearyall Hill, Joseph’s staff is said to have blossomed into the Glastonbury Thorn. At the Tor’s base, under the Chalice Well, Joseph of Arimithea, the Jew who arranged for the burial of Jesus, is said to have buried the Holy Grail. Some believe the Tor is Ynys Wydryn, or Ineswitrin, the Isle of Glass – though this name is more usually associated with Glastonbury itself. It was Merlin’s stronghold and where the sword Excalibur was forged. It is Ynys Avallach or Ynys yr Afalon, the Isle of Avalon. It is the home of Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies and Lord of the Otherworld. Mysterious Glastonbury Tor, a natural feature rising some 500 feet above the watery Somerset Levels, has been a sacred site since before the Romans came. But there are still places where it is sometimes hard to tell where fact ends and fiction begins. Last Updated on 10th November 2021 by Britain is a more illusive place than it once was.

Glastonbury tor the site of the isle of avalon