Glastonbury, a small town in Somerset, is surrounded by a grouping of hills. The tallest of these hills is known as the Tor, which happens to have an old stone tower on the very top which was once a church dedicated to the archangel Michael. Close to the Tor is Chalice Hill. Wearyall Hill is a long, narrow ridge that points towards Bristol Channel. Finally, there's Windmill Hill which faces the cathedral city of Wells and just below are the ruins of the medieval abbey. Before the land was drained for farmland in later Christian times, the hills around Glastonbury appeared as islands from the West. Today's river Brue (the dark blue line at the bottom of the map) was once the deepest channel in the shallow swamps and allowed boats to pass. The ancient name for the Tor was Ynys Witrin, which means 'the Island of Glass.' But this 'island' is more widely known from Celtic lore as Avalon, the Apple-place and the isle of enchantment.

The ancient Celtic name for the Tor was Ynys Witrin, 'Island of Glass.' Another Celtic name was Caer Wydyr, 'Fort of Glass,' which is also the third name for the Celtic Otherworld. Surrounded mostly by water, a defensive wall known as Ponter's Ball was erected to the East and protected Glastonbury from the mainland. A bridge, known as the Pomparles or as Perilous Bridge, was the only dry access point to the south. Pomparles is thought to be the place where Bedwyr, from the Arthurian legend, returned the sword Excalibur to the Lady Of The Lake after the Battle of Camlann.

The Christian legends claim that Jesus' uncle, Joseph of Arimathea , was a metal merchant and on one of his voyages to the lead mines of the Mendip Hills he called in at the port of Glastonbury. He brought with him his young nephew Jesus and they stayed for a while. Some legends say that there was more than one visit and that Jesus built the first simple Church in Glastonbury with his own hands. Other legends claim that Jesus came to learn from the Celtic Druid Priests of the mystery school on the island.

After the crucifixion, Joseph is said to have returned to Glastonbury (around either 37 or 64 AD) with a small band of disciples and to have settled here establishing the first Christian Church in Britain. He is said to have brought with him the Holy Grail, the cup of the last supper, and to have buried it somewhere on Chalice Hill.

The Church that Joseph established grew into the Benedictine Monastery of the Middle Ages. Because of the legends of its beginnings it was held to be the "holiest earth in England" and was a place of pilgrimage for kings and commoners alike.

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