Our verdict
This is a six-week wonder. Come mid May to late June and it's one of the loveliest sights in Somerset; come in August and it's a mown field. The flowers are the walk — time it right.
Ancient hay meadows on the flat land by the River Cary, farmed the old way and never ploughed or sprayed. In late spring the grass disappears under green-winged orchids, yellow rattle and buttercups.
Working hay meadows cut in July and grazed after. Keep to the field edges when the grass is up — the flowers are the point and they don't survive trampling.