FAMOUS National Trust monuments across Somerset will join national landmarks in lighting beacons on Thursday, June 2 to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Brean Down, Burrow Mump, Dunkery Beacon, Glastonbury Tor, Crook Peak, Staple Plain, and Wellington Monument will host simultaneous beacon-lighting events at 9:15pm.
Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust, said: “As part of the celebrations, the trust is proud to take part in the lighting of historic beacons, from Mow Top with its views of the Staffordshire Moorlands, to Cornwall's Chapel Corn Brea, Britain's westernmost hill.
“They will continue a royal tradition, with beacons illuminating the landscape just as they did for Her Majesty's Golden and Diamond Jubilees.”
A host of other Jubilee events will be taking place in the county and throughout the south west between June 2 and June 5 to mark the Queen's historic 70-year reign.
The medieval village of Dunster within the Exmoor National Park will host a Jubilee-themed trail throughout May half-term.
Each point of the trail will represent a decade of Her Majesty's 70-year reign, and it will feature activities, challenges, and a crown prize.
Visitors to Barrington Court near Ilminster will be able to celebrate the event on Friday, June 3 with two performances from the Wessex Military Concert Band (scheduled for 12pm and 2:30pm).
A spokesperson for the trust in South Somerset said: “The added delight of celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee will mean that this half term is a particularly special one.”
Tyntesfield in North Somerset will encourage people to bring picnics to the site's gardens, which will be decorated with bunting and picnic blankets.
Live music will be provided by local young musicians.
Bath's Prior Park Landscape Garden will feature a Kings and Queens-themed quiz with links to the site's history.
There will also be some games and decorations and the chance to picnic in the
beautiful grounds.
In total, more than 2,000 metres of bunting will adorn National Trust sites across the south west during the Platinum Jubilee weekend.
The National Trust has also taken part in the Queen's Green Canopy, an initiative encouraging individuals, schools, and businesses to 'plant a tree for the Jubilee'.
A total of 6,000 trees were planted at Doverhay on the trust's Holnicote Estate on Exmoor earlier this year, with plans in place to plant another 7,000 this winter.
The site they’ve been planted on was previously a dense conifer plantation.
The area has been replanted with native broadleaved trees including Sessile Oak, Field Maple, Beech, Rowan, Hawthorn, Hazel, and Wild Pear.
A tree recently planted at Wellington Monument following the completion of its £3 million refurbishment project has been dedicated to the Platinum Jubilee.
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