Glastonbury

This little Somerset town with an outsized reputation, Glastonbury is built around the ruins of one of medieval England's most important abbeys — the site of Edmund Ironside's coronation in 1016 — and has accumulated centuries of myth linking it to King Arthur, the Holy Grail, and Joseph of Arimathea. The 15th-century Church of St John the Baptist, the medieval Tribunal, and a 14th-century tithe barn add to a heritage-dense centre, while the town has also been a hub for New Age belief since the early twentieth century. The Glastonbury Festival, held nearby in Pilton, takes its name from here.

• Population8,932
• Nearest water0.5 km
• Nearest mountain0.9 km
• UNESCO within 50 km3