Somerset Space Walk

The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett. There were a number of abortive schemes to link the Bristol Channel to the English Channel by waterway in the 18th and early 19th centuries. These schemes followed the approximate route eventually taken by the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, but the canal was instead built as part of a plan to link Bristol to Taunton by waterway. The early years of operation were marred by a series of legal disputes, which were resolved when the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal Company and the Conservators, who managed the River Tone Navigation, agreed that the Canal Company should take over the Tone Navigation. The canal originally terminated at a basin at Huntworth, to the east of Bridgwater, but was later extended to a floating harbour at Bridgwater Docks on its western edge. Financially this was a disaster, as the extension was funded by a mortgage, and the arrival of the railways soon afterwards started the demise of the canal. The canal was rescued from bankruptcy by the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1866. Despite commercial traffic ceasing in 1907, the infrastructure was maintained in good order, and the canal was used for the transport of potable water from 1962. The Countryside Act 1968 provided a framework for Somerset County Council to start the restoration of the canal as a leisure facility, which was completed in 1994, when the canal was reopened throughout. Bridgwater Docks have been restored as a marina, but there is no navigable connection to the River Parrett, as the canal still transports drinking water for the people of Bridgwater.

Maunsel House in the English county of Somerset was built in the late 14th or early 15th century. The house stands south of the hamlet of North Newton, in the parish of North Petherton. It is the family seat of the Slade baronets and is a Grade II* listed building.

The Anglican Church of St Peter in North Newton within the English county of Somerset has a tower believed to date from Saxon times. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Durston is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road 5 miles (8.0 km) north east of Taunton and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bridgwater in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish lies on undulating ground between the lowest slopes of the Quantock Hills and the valley of the River Tone at the Curry and Hay Moors. The parish has a population of 136.

Cogload Junction is a railway junction in Durston, Somerset, England. It is where the 1906-opened London to Penzance Line via Castle Cary joins the original line that runs via Bristol Temple Meads. A flyover was constructed in 1931 converting it into a flying junction.

Buckland Priory (also known as Minchin Buckland Preceptory or Buckland Sororum (Latin: "Buckland of the Sisters")) was established around 1167 in Lower Durston, Somerset, England.

North Moor (grid reference ST325305) is a 676.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Lyng in Somerset, England. It was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1986. North Moor is a nationally important grazing marsh and ditch system on the Somerset Levels and Moors. A range of neutral grassland types supporting common and scarce plants has developed mainly due to variations in soils and management practices. Aquatic plant communities are exceptionally diverse with good populations of nationally scarce species. The site has special interest in its bird life.North Moor was flooded during the Winter flooding of 2013–14 on the Somerset Levels.

Petherton Park (also known as North Petherton Park or Newton Park) was a Deer park around North Petherton within the English county of Somerset. The origins are unclear but the area was part of an earlier Royal Forest stretching from the River Parrett to the Quantock Hills. According to the late 13th century Hundred Rolls, King Henry II of England (d. 1189) gave William of Wrotham lands at North Petherton. During the reigns of Henry II (1154–1189) and Richard I (1189–1199), the royal forest of Petherton Park, was held from the crown by Osbert and William Dacus by grand serjeanty of being the king's Forester of Petherton. William de Plessis, who died in 1274 was granted Petherton Park and it was inherited by his son Richard de Barbeflote or Plessis.The park was the only part of the royal estate which had not been granted away from royal ownership by the end of the 13th century. From 1391 until his death in 1400 the poet Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the foresters. He was succeeded by his son Thomas Chaucer. At various points during the 13th and 14th centuries, the park was the source of venison for royal feasts. The park was also a source of timber, which was granted by the king often to religious houses such as the Buckland Priory and the Friary and Nunnery in Ilchester. Between 1513 and 1535 Sir William Courtenay (d.1535) of Powderham, Devon was the keeper of North Petherton Park.The park was visited by John Leland in 1538 who recorded that there were around 2000 deer in the park. Its extent was shown on the map of 1575 by Christopher Saxton and again in a map of 1610 by John Speed.In 1583 the park was recorded as being owned by absentee landlords and falling into decline, although it was still a source of timber for sale. In 1584 part of the park was enclosed and leased. In 1638 the keeper Sir Thomas Wroth, of the Wroth baronets who had held the park since the reign of Elizabeth I, started to break up the park and by 1665 it had been divided into 11 different holdings, and by 1676 there were 15.The Alfred Jewel, an Anglo-Saxon artefact made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold, was discovered in the park in 1693, and is now one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It has been dated from the late 9th century. It was made in the reign of Alfred the Great and is inscribed "AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN", meaning 'Alfred ordered me made'. The jewel was once attached to a rod, probably of wood, at its base. After decades of scholarly discussion, it is now "generally accepted" that the jewel's function was to be the handle for a pointer stick for following words when reading a book. It is an exceptional and unusual example of Anglo-Saxon jewellery. There is a replica of the jewel in the Church of St Mary, North Petherton. Maunsel House at North Newton, which was within the area of the earlier park, was built in the late 14th or early 15th century. Between 1648 and 1726 it was owned by the Bacon family who turned some the land into gardens, orchards and a fish pond.The house which takes the name of Petherton Park was built in the 17th century. It is a Grade II listed building. It is now known as Petherton Park Farmhouse and has been divided into two separate houses. The two storey building has an eleven bay front. Two gatepiers at the entry to the site are also listed.

Curry and Hay Moors (grid reference ST323273) is a 472.8 hectare (1168.1 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1992. Curry and Hay Moors form part of the complex of grazing marshes known as the Somerset Levels and Moors. The low-lying site is situated adjacent to the River Tone which annually overtops, flooding the fields in winter. Soils are predominantly alluvial clays overlying Altcar series peats. The flora and fauna of the ditches and rhynes is of national importance. Over 70 aquatic and bankside vascular plants have been recorded including frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus), wood club-rush (Scirpus sylvaticus) and lesser water-plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides). Over 100 species of aquatic invertebrates inhabit the ditches including one nationally rare soldier fly, (Odontomyia ornata) and 13 nationally scarce species including the water beetles Agabus uliginosus, Hydaticus transversalis and Helophorus nanus. In winter the flooded fields provide food for large numbers of waterfowl with several thousand northern lapwing, hundreds of common snipe and smaller numbers of golden plover and dunlin regularly present. Over two hundred Bewick's swans have been recorded, making the site an internationally important wintering ground for this species. Raptor species such as short-eared owl, merlin and peregrine regularly hunt over the site in winter. Vertebrate species present include barred grass snake and common frog. Eurasian otters are regularly recorded on the site.The moor was flooded during the winter flooding of 2013–14 on the Somerset Levels.

Lyng is a civil parish in Somerset, England, comprising the villages of West Lyng and East Lyng and the hamlet of Bankland.

North Petherton is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includes Hamp, Melcombe, Shearston, Woolmersdon and Huntworth. Dating from at least the 10th century and an important settlement in Saxon times, North Petherton became a town only in the late 20th century, until then claiming to be the largest village in England. A former market and administrative centre, North Petherton is now largely a dormitory town for workers in Bridgwater, 3 miles (5 km) to the north east, and Taunton, 8 miles (13 km) to the south west. The centre of the town is designated an Area of High Archaeological Potential (AHAP), and a number of buildings have been given listed building status.

The Bridgwater Canalside Centre was renamed 'The Canalside' in February 2008 and is a facility located near to the village of Huntworth on the outskirts of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The site was formerly known as the Hinkley Point Sports and Social Club and was owned by British Energy until it was bought by a charity called Brunstad Christian Church - Huntworth. It is currently operated by Somerset Solutions Ltd. The property is less than a mile from Junction 24 of the M5 motorway. It is situated alongside the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal and adjacent to large areas of farmland. The entire site is approximately 8 acres (32,000 m2) and comprises 7,000 sq ft (650 m2) building complex containing, large conference hall, function rooms, commercial kitchen and ancillary rooms. Outside there are 2 full-sized football pitches, flood-lit tennis courts, children's play areas and parking for around 100 cars. It was launched in 2006 as a venue for conferences and training, functions, entertainment as well as a range of sport and community activities. The property is used by the Somerset and Sedgemoor District Councils as well as the National Health Service. It has also been the venue of match between the world darts champions in June 2007 and a Paul Stockman event in October 2007. The Bridgwater Canalside Centre is also used as a parking site for the annual Bridgwater carnival, the profits of which are donated to charity. In 2008, the venue was host to Our NHS Our Future — led by top surgeon Lord Ara Darzi from the Ministry of Health and the NHS Review, a week later.