Wellington Monument, Wellington, Somerset

Wellington Monument is the huge obelisk that you can see sticking up out of the trees for miles around in this part of the world; like several others in the country, it was built in honour of the Duke of Wellington and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo. If your curiosity has been piqued, take yourselves up there because it’s amazing – the views seem to stretch out endlessly across the landscape, and it’s a nice place for an amble with a very short one mile trail to follow through beechwoods, wildlife meadows and grasslands.

You could make an afternoon of it, take a picnic, fly a kite, have a game of rounders, and in fact, you can actually go inside the monument, though you’ll need to book a tour online and you’ll need to leave your high heels at home because there are 232 steps to climb, up a small spiral staircase. Once you’ve done it you can officially say you’ve been inside the tallest three-sided obelisk in the whole world – at 175ft Wellington Monument has that accolade.

Round off your afternoon with a browse around Wellington; pick up any bits and pieces you need, treat yourselves to afternoon tea at Odette’s Tea Rooms.

All information correct at the time of writing

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