Glastonbury

Every year, towards the end of June, the Glastonbury festival takes place in Somerset in the south west of England. The population of this small town is not even 10,000 although when the festival is on there are as many as 150,000 music lovers attending the three-day event.

The tickets for the 2007 festival sold out in less than 2 hours, and the cost of each was £145. It's not cheap, but when you consider that there are dozens of different stages and almost every musical genre on show you do get quite good value for money. Obviously it's impossible to see all the acts on all the stages, but you can happily move around and see what's on. In 2007 such world-famous artists as Paul Weller, The Who, Bjork, Fatboy Slim, The Killers and Mika played over the weekend. In total 700 artists played on 80 stages making it the largest performing arts festival in the world. It all started back in 1970 and was influenced by the hippie movement of the time. It's had its problems over the years, including complaints from residents in nearby villages to severe floods thanks to the notorious British summer!

However, Glastonbury is more than just an arts festival. The town is steeped in history and myth and is an important religious centre. Various legends are centred around Glastonbury Tor. A tor is a small hill and what makes this one so notable is the fact that it rises up as if out of nowhere on an otherwise completely flat plain. On top of the tor is a lone structure, St Michael's Tower, part of a former church, traditionally the oldest above ground church in the world.

The tor became linked with the legendary King Arthur after his coffin, along with his wife Queen Guinevere's, was discovered at the abbey there in 1191. He was supposedly raised by the wizard Merlin and became King of England after he managed to pull the sword Excalibur from a stone. Many others had tried and failed. Legend says that his body was laid to rest on Avalon, the mystical island. The area where the tor stands used to be flooded and it would have been an island. Indeed on his coffin there is an inscription which reads: "Here lies King Arthur in the island of Avalon". However, many historians consider this to be a fraud.

In any case, a visit to the Glastonbury Abbey is a must do for anyone coming to the area as it's one of Britain's most beautiful historic sites. There are 36 acres of parkland around the abbey ruins and the scenery is quite breathtaking. Bring your camera and take some pictures you'll want to look at time and time again. Who knows, you may even catch a glimpse of the ghost of King Arthur himself.