SOMERSET has a wealth of rural craft on its doorstep thanks to its uniquely diverse landscape, stretching to coast, fen and moor, as well as deep agricultural soils, hedgerows and spinneys. The county’s crafts are alive and kicking in the shape of withy weavers, veg and flower-farmers, jam-makers and artists who take their inspiration from the county’s beautiful lanes and levels.

This September, Somerset’s growers and craftspeople are converging on Forde Abbey, near Chard for TV gardener Toby Buckland’s new Garden and Harvest Festival. Fresh from presenting the BBC’s summer flower-show coverage at Chelsea and Hampton Court, Toby and his team have assembled a talented mix of nurseries, artisan food, local art and crafts, as well as garden luminaries Charlie Dimmock, The One Show’s Christine Walkden and BBC’s The Big Allotment Challenge judge Jim Buttress. Here you can sample and buy the best of the county’s harvest and try your hand at everything from scything, making natural dyes, apple juicing, cooking with edible flowers, botanical soap making and even making your own festival gin.

WONDERS OF WEAVING