Taunton (England)

Taunton is the county town of Somerset, a county in the south-west of England. Taunton has several landmarks room its thousand-year history, and is famous for its cider.

By air
The nearest airports are at Bristol Airport, to the north-west and Exeter Airport , to the south-west, both about away.

By road
By road, leave the M5 motorway at exit 25. Taunton has a railway station on the main line from London Paddington (typical journey time 2 hr 5 min) to Exeter (25 min), Plymouth (1 hr 30 min), and Penzance (3 hr 40 min). Bristol is 35 min away by rail.

By train
has many rail connections:
 * First Great Western operate direct trains to London Paddington and to Worcester and Great Malvern.
 * CrossCountry operate services to Taunton from Birmingham, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
 * Both companies run direct trains to Bristol and Cheltenham Spa, Exeter, Paignton, Plymouth, and Penzance.
 * For train times, see National Rail Enquiries.

By bus
Buses link to Wellington, Bridgwater, Yeovil, Exeter, and Chard.

South West Falcon operates a service connecting Bristol, Taunton, Exeter and Plymouth. A single fare from Plymouth to Bristol is £28. Tickets can be booked online in advance, but reservations are not strictly required.

Get around
Traffic in Taunton is awful. A park and ride service (the Taunton Flyer) provides transport between the town centre and a large car park at Silk Mills.

The best options are to walk or take a bus. However, the bus and railway stations are a good 15 minutes' walk apart!

By bus
Buses are frequent during the week, but evenings and Sundays are very limited. Buses operated by Firstbus - They are expensive.

Do

 * Cricket at
 * Rugby Union: Taunton Titans play in National League 1, the third tier. Their home ground is Veritas Park on Hyde Lane, two miles east of town centre.
 * Rugby Union: Taunton Titans play in National League 1, the third tier. Their home ground is Veritas Park on Hyde Lane, two miles east of town centre.
 * Rugby Union: Taunton Titans play in National League 1, the third tier. Their home ground is Veritas Park on Hyde Lane, two miles east of town centre.

Buy

 * Farmers Market is held on High St on Thursdays.
 * Farmers Market is held on High St on Thursdays.

Eat
All of the major fast food chains are represented, including two branches each of Subway and McDonalds. The town has a range of coffee shops, including the major chains Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero.


 * , opened in 2021, is on Pound Lane in Bishop's Lydeard 8 miles northwest of Taunton. It's modern British cuisine, served Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, W & Su 12:00-16:00.
 * , opened in 2021, is on Pound Lane in Bishop's Lydeard 8 miles northwest of Taunton. It's modern British cuisine, served Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, W & Su 12:00-16:00.
 * , opened in 2021, is on Pound Lane in Bishop's Lydeard 8 miles northwest of Taunton. It's modern British cuisine, served Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, W & Su 12:00-16:00.
 * , opened in 2021, is on Pound Lane in Bishop's Lydeard 8 miles northwest of Taunton. It's modern British cuisine, served Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, W & Su 12:00-16:00.
 * , opened in 2021, is on Pound Lane in Bishop's Lydeard 8 miles northwest of Taunton. It's modern British cuisine, served Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, W & Su 12:00-16:00.
 * , opened in 2021, is on Pound Lane in Bishop's Lydeard 8 miles northwest of Taunton. It's modern British cuisine, served Th-Sa 12:00-23:00, W & Su 12:00-16:00.

Connect
As of May 2022, Taunton has 5G from EE and Three, and 4G from O2 and Vodafone.

Go next

 * West Somerset Railway, run by volunteers. Recapture the age of steam.
 * Glastonbury, a place of pilgrimage,.
 * Cheddar Caves and Gorge,.