This Wednesday (May 11) is Somerset Day, and people are being encouraged to get out and celebrate everything that the county has to offer.

Founder of Somerset Day, Nigel Muers-Raby, said, "I founded Somerset Day, along with a group of independent business owners, because we felt that one of the problems with Somerset it that it's quite broken up as a county. We have the area covered by Somerset County Council, but also North Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, Sedgemoor etc.

"When the county got broken up, to some extent it lost its identity.

"If you talk to someone in Yorkshire they are very proud of their county, they don't stop talking about it. In Somerset, we are not quite so good at that. We love our county, but we are more shy about shouting about it. But we have an amazing county. We have more to offer than Devon and Cornwall put together, and we need to beat the drum for it."

The date of May 11 was chosen in an online poll in 2015, in which more than 8,000 people voted. It's a significant date in the county's history, marking Alfred the Great's call to arms and the gathering of 'all the people of Somerset' to march against the invading Viking army in 878.

Alfred is the only Monarch to have been called the Great and following his defeat of the Danes is regarded by many to be the first King of England. By the 890's Alfred's charters and coinage were referring to him as 'King of the English'. (The dates of the key events in Alfred's campaign are not precisely known, but they culminated in the first part of May.

And May 11 features more than once among the milestones of Somerset history.

• It was on 11 May 973 that St Dunstan, the Somerset-born Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the coronation of King Edgar in Bath Abbey, an occasion of great significance in the history of the English crown. This was the first coronation of an English king for which any kind of extended record survives and still forms the basis for the coronation service used in modern times.
• On May 11 1645 the terrible second siege of Taunton ended when Royalist forces suddenly withdrew and the town was improbably held for Parliament. It was a watershed in the Civil War and gave rise to a rhyme that was chanted in the streets of Taunton long afterwards: "Rejoice ye dogs 'tis the 11th of May, the day the Cavaliers ran away".

This May 11 marks the sixth Somerset Day, and there are events planned across the county to mark the occasion, as well as a special trail showcasing both well-known landmarks and lesser known spot, with some fabulous prizes up for grabs too.

Nigel said, "What better way to evoke your passion for Somerset than to visit your favourite places and businesses. We want to see Somerset turned into a sea of flags so make sure you're ready to celebrate Somerset Day and show your commitment to Somerset on May 11 by buying a flag or some bunting to fly. We will be encouraging those that take part in our trail to fly the flag at each location they visit in order to win some great Somerset prizes."

All the details about the events and the trail are available on the Somerset Day website.

There will be lots of activity on Somerset Day's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts on Wednesday, so make sure you are following.