Janet Hewison finds the Somerset countryside that inspired two great friends and poets is still pulling in the visitors today.

BEFORE he moved back to his native Lake District and started wandering among the daffodils, William Wordsworth found inspiration in a different corner of the country, alongside his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The poetic pair lived in the west of Somerset for an eventful period, which inspired love, jealousy, betrayal and quite a lot of opium. The story of their intense friendship in those early days is told in a new film called Pandaemonium, which is showing at City Screen, York this weekend.

The film's release has provided welcome exposure for the surrounding Somerset countryside at a time when the region's tourism industry has suffered, like many others, from the effects of foot and mouth disease.

Pandaemonium, which is directed by Julien Temple, was filmed on and around the Quantock Hills where Wordsworth and Coleridge made their homes, including the village of Nether Stowey, where Coleridge's cottage is now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

There was no sign of the film causing tourist pandemonium just yet when our party visited the area this summer and the quiet sunny streets of Nether Stowey were almost deserted in the middle of August.

The local tourist boards have put together a list of locations from the film in the area around Somerset's county town of Taunton, which add to an already well-trodden tourist trail.

The area's main attraction continues to be its countryside. During our trip we were driven round in a rather conspicuous 1930s 'heritage' bus through many sleepy villages full of red stone cottages, all built around church towers, with cosy-looking pubs at the roadside.

High-hedged lanes lead up from many of these villages to the Quantock Hills, which are again one of the main attractions, now that all footpaths have been re-opened following the foot and mouth crisis.

There is plenty of accommodation available in Taunton and surrounding villages, as well as in the nearby towns of Wellington and Wiveliscombe. Places to stay range from hotels and bed and breakfast to self-catering apartments, farmhouses and camping.

Tourist attractions close by include Sheppy's Cider, which has a museum of old farming machinery and offers visitors the opportunity to sample the products; and the West Somerset Steam Railway, which is staffed by volunteers.

At the Willows and Wetlands Centre at Stoke St Gregory, you can watch the weavers who sit on the floor and make baskets all day; you can also browse round a shop full of anything and everything made of willow.

And for gardeners, a trip to Hestercombe Gardens is a must. The a formal garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens is full of vibrant colour, even on the rainy day we visited; the landscaped park features in Pandaemonium.

Our visit also coincided with Taunton Flower Show, which is organised by the district council every August, and is based in the town's main park.

Further afield in Somerset, visitors can easily reach the coast for a day trip - Stolford and Watchet are supposed to have inspired the writing of The Ancient Mariner - as well as attractions such as Cheddar Gorge, Wells Cathedral and Wookey Hole Caves, which were used in the film to show Coleridge's creation of Kubla Khan.

Fact file:

- For a Taunton Deane holiday and accommodation guide, call 01823 332074 or visit www.heartofsomerset.com

For a copy of a Pandaemonium leaflet, with details about the film's Somerset locations, call the Tourist Information Centre at either Taunton on 01823 336344 or Bridgwater on 01278 427652.