Cheese, cider, bike: a tasty tour of the West Country

"What more do you need than a good cheese and a glass of cider?" I'm at Batch Farm in the Somerset village of East Pennard and cheesemonger Malcolm Dyer is brilliantly setting up his stall. The farm is one of the highlights of the Somerset Food Trail, a 10-day celebration of the county's small food producers which runs until July 24. The trail aims to showcase the richness of the region, offering visitors the opportunity to explore farms, meet producers, picnic at community farms and "food forests", sip cider while watching local bands and generally drinking, grazing and shopping as they please.< /p>

Somerset is a surprisingly large county, so trail organizers usefully divided it into 11 zones. Wanting to get a taste of the terrain beforehand, I decide to focus on the patch I know best - Bruton, Castle Cary and Wincanton - but explore it again on one of the guided bike safaris Electric from Bruton Bike Hire. Ten of these circuits will be run during the event, on two different routes, and I'm testing the northern loop.

I meet my guide, Robin Balme, on Bruton's High Rue. This small town has made its way into heavy food circles over the past few years with the opening of At the Chapel, Roth Bar & Grill, Matt's Kitchen and Osip. Buttressing them, however, is a thriving farm-to-table scene and - once Balme has me set up with a bike, helmet and high-vis vest - the goal is to dive in, fork first .