A real 'Gateway Town' for the south-west and the natural beauty of Somerset, Taunton sits on the mainline operated by Great Western trains and is close to the M5 motorway.
Taunton is the largest regional town in the South West county of Somerset and forms part of the larger borough of Somerset West and Taunton. The town and its approximate 70,000 population sit forty miles southwest of Bristol and thirty and sixty-five miles northeast of Exeter and Plymouth respectively. Conveniently, Taunton is also based along the major M5 road which runs from Birmingham southwards all the way to Exeter. This enables straightforward car travel across the South West and the Midlands. Other nearby major roads include the A38 and the A358. Taunton also benefits from its primary railway station. It enables train travel to the likes of Cornwall, Tiverton, London, Bristol, Cardiff and Reading. This also means business travellers staying at corporate housing in Taunton can also be within easy reach of the town’s nearest international airport, Exeter (EXT).
Despite Taunton’s amazing transportation connections, it is not what it is renowned for. For instance, the intersecting River Tone, which extends over 30 kilometres, historically gave Taunton its own name. The local community take great pride in its enthralling history of over 1000 years as well as the rich countryside and exclusive attractions the county town possesses. Taunton Racecourse, Somerset County Cricket Club, the Museum of Somerset and Vivary Park are just a few examples of destinations that help to create Taunton’s identity and attract thousands of tourists and businesspeople to the town each year.
After being named as a ‘Strategically Important Town’ in the government’s Regional Spatial Strategy, Taunton has seen a good deal of regeneration in the last decade. Helped by good transport links, due to its proximity to the M5 and a train station on the main line between Exeter and Bristol, corporate travellers often come to the area and find Taunton serviced apartments a great way to make the most of their stay. Moreover, Taunton’s strategy for the future involves undergoing major road and rail improvements. An awarded £19.4m as part of the ‘Growth Deal’, an approximate £29m investment and an £8.5m refurbishment collectively has and will continue to fund the improvement and redevelopment of transport infrastructure. It is this ambitious attitude to grow business potential here that is sure to catch businesspeople's interest across the country. Naturally, there is a temptation to reside in corporate accommodation in Taunton.
Business in Taunton associates with diversity and variety. The local climate accommodates for both micro businesses and global corporations. Consequently, the town’s business culture benefits from such a diversity of corporate sectors. The Taunton Chamber of Commerce takes pride in their encouragement of a thriving business community. There are many ways they are able to welcome many relocating businesses with ease. Taunton has quality business space on offer, including purpose build industrial units as well as widespread elegant and modern offices. Funding has even enabled the new ‘Nexus 25’ business park to start development. These all come at reasonable premises cost compared to the likes of Exeter, Bristol and London.
The Somerset destination also commits to its status as a ‘Garden Town’. This is where the community and their surrounding environment takes priority in order to help businesses live, work and prosper. This status is a catalyst for business and investment in the area. The ‘Growing our Garden Town’ growth strategy for Taunton further signifies the community’s ambition to create a prosperous business climate. The existing strong business climate and the potential for further success are clearly evident based on all these factors. They help make Taunton an attractive place to visit for any corporate.
Previously a Saxon village called 'Tone Tun', meaning ‘roaring river estate’, Taunton then began to grow from the tenth century. It belonged to Alfred the Great’s network of fortified towns across his kingdom. By the time of the Domesday book (1086), Taunton had a population of 1,500 people. In the thirteenth century though Taunton had established itself as a famous wool industry town. Exports were going as far as Africa by the sixteenth century. The industry was, however, replaced by silk-weaving which came to Taunton in the eighteenth century.
Trade was then aided further by the Grand Western Canal reaching the town. The arrival of the railway then came in the mid-nineteenth century. From then onwards, as mentioned before, Taunton was listed as a ‘Strategically Important Town or City’. This meant Taunton was able to receive funding for regeneration projects beyond the start of the millennium. The town has been able to grow and is continuing to develop to this day. For a deeper insight into the town’s history, venture from the comfort of your furnished housing in Taunton and visit the Museum of Somerset based in the heart of the town.
Serviced apartments in Taunton give not only great access to Somerset’s county town itself but also to the countryside nearby. The Somerset Levels, Quantock Hills and Blackdowns offer three very different landscapes all within easy reach. The Somerset Levels is a landscape of wetlands and rivers extending over 150,000 acres of beautiful greenery, whilst the Quantock Hills is a range of stunning hills west of Bridgwater, announced England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Blackdown Hills is also an Area of Natural Beauty. The Hills are a few miles east of the Bristol Channel, providing a great view of the Chew Valley. Even if guests find themselves in the area for a limited time and stay in short term accommodation in Taunton, it is worthwhile travelling that little farther outside the town to appreciate these wonderful sites.
Aside from these great landscapes, Taunton also has some great internal sites of its own. For instance, the River Tone runs through central Taunton and alongside the popular French Weir Park and Goodland Gardens. Corporates and their families can take the opportunity to relax on these lovely, public green spaces after a day of exploring or working.
For sure should be involved in the exploration of Taunton should be the Museum of Somerset just off North Street. Within the Taunton Castle’s twelfth-century walls visitors are in awe of the contemporary exhibition and gallery spaces on show. The Taunton Castle is a sight to behold in itself. It encapsulates the history of the town and the community’s love for the area’s rich past.
Furthermore, there are also Somerset’s Cricket Museum and Military Museum. Again, both sites are great representatives of both Taunton’s and the county’s past in their respective fields. In fact, the idea that each of these museums illustrates the history of the county and are based in Taunton demonstrates the importance of the central town for the county as a whole. Situ’s Taunton aparthotels can ensure you are nearby whichever museum of your choice and the beautiful landscapes the town and its surrounding area has to offer.
Overall, whether you are coming to Taunton on business or pleasure, or both, Situ have Taunton serviced apartments on offer to accommodate to any trip of your choosing.
Taunton has several different rail links, enabling train travel across the country. These services are either run by the train operators; Cross Country or Great Western Railway.
It sits on the Bristol - Exeter line, and also the Reading to Taunton line. A cross country service also runs from the station and links visitors to both the North and South of the country.
A fast train connects guests to London Paddington in approximately 2 hours. The next stops from Taunton’s station are Tiverton Parkway southwards and Bridgwater northwards.
Webberbus is the main local bus operator.
It links visitors to surrounding areas such as Wellington, Burnham on Sea and Bridgewater. National Express operates from Taunton Coach Station, providing regular services to London and Heathrow Airport.
The closest international airport is Exeter Airport (EXT), thirty miles south of Taunton, closely followed by Bristol International Airport (BRS) which is around thirty-five miles northeast.
Both of these airports can be accessed by car via the M5 road which passes nearby both their respective cities. These airports can also both be reached thanks to services running from Taunton railway station through to each airport’s nearby railway stations.
Aside from the domestic and international flights on offer, visitors to Taunton may instead prefer to fly from Cardiff (CWL) and Bournemouth (BOH). If needs be, our ideally located Taunton city apartments could potentially facilitate airport taxi transfers on request too.
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