Orchards

Orchards
unfurl across meadows threaded by the River Brue. Lanes
flanked by hedgerows overflowing with cow parsley give way to
narrow streets lined with Hamstone cottages and medieval churches.
From up on Lusty Hill, a 16th-century dovecote broods over the
seemingly sleepy West Country town of Bruton.

As locations go, it’s an unassuming spot for a cosmopolitan
enclave of bon vivants. Tucked between Yeovil and Frome, with a
population that hovers around 3,000 and a social life that hugs a
single street, this South Somerset bolthole proves that good things
come in small packages. Since the internationally renowned Hauser
& Wirth gallery opened here in 2014, Bruton has enjoyed a
flourish of popularity. Today, it punches far above its
featherweight when it comes to world-class contemporary art,
design-driven boutique hotels, sustainable farm-to-table
restaurants and idiosyncratic shops that have earned it cult status
among those in the know.

Correspondingly, a who’s who of city-dwelling celebs and media
types have decamped to the sticks, bringing with them a sprinkle of
stardust that has given this medieval market town a moniker of
“Notting Hill-on-Brue”. Yes, Bruton has since been ranked among the
“coolest” and “most fashionable” places to live in the UK, but
snobbishness is kept at bay by a collective, unadulterated pursuit
of the good life. This is a place that is as communal as it is
bucolic, albeit in a thoroughly modern, cultured guise.

For years, poor transport connections meant that Bruton avoided
the radar of Londoners seeking a break from the Big Smoke; now the
number of train services running between here and Paddington
Station clock in around four each day (and take roughly two and a
half hours), making a car-free micro-break more do-able, but
keeping it far enough off the beaten path that it’s not overrun
with visitors.

We’ve consulted locals, perused galleries, trodden country
trails and quaffed a good amount of Burrow Hill cider in a bid to
find the best places to stay and play in Bruton.