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Wells

Wells was one of my unexpected favorites from a previous trip to England and I wanted to share it with my family.  Since we arrived from our transatlantic flight the day before, we were all a little worse for wear but it was nice to have a relaxed pace for the first day.

We parked in the Prince Street car park about 10 am and there were plenty of parking spaces.  We wanted to be there for the market day (Saturday), so we began our day by browsing the market.  Our children (13 &16) were not very impressed, but I did get a nice deal on some running socks.  We were also pleased to find free public toilets just off the square.

After the market, we explored the outside of the Bishop’s Palace.  Our jet lagged teens were beginning to come around by this point and everyone enjoyed the geese and ducks in the moat.  If you have never seen a medieval Bishop’s Palace, it is worth a look.  They resemble castles and in some cases are more impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked around the stunning Cathedral to Vicar’s Close, everyone perked up.  Vicar’s Close is notable for being the oldest continually occupied medieval street in Europe.  Constructed in the 1300s, this street was built for priests that served in the Cathedral choir.  It is definitely worth a look and a unique experience as no other town in Europe has a street like this.  The Chain gate (picture below) allowed entrance to the Cathedral from the Vicar’s Close.  All of us enjoyed exploring the close briefly before taking in the exterior of the cathedral.

We were expecting an 11 am guided tour of the cathedral, but that never materialized (despite signage indicating there would be tours).  Instead we enjoyed the cathedral on our own.  We were fortunate enough to arrive in time to see the medieval clock’s (the second oldest clock in the world) 10:45 performance and the 11:15 repeat performance.  One of the truly unique features of this cathedral is that at quarter to the hour and quarter past the hour a pair of mechanical knights joust each other.  Our 16 year-old liked it enough he waited 30 minutes to see it a second time.  The clock face on the outside of the cathedral is connected to the clock face inside the cathedral.

We took in the stained glass, the arches, and the tombs dating back to the 1200s, and admired all of the smaller chapels contained in the building.   I didn’t remember much from my visit in the 1990s except the outside of the cathedral and how impressive (and surprising) it was.  It is very much worth a visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The original plan was to eat lunch in Wells, but everyone was still full from breakfast so we returned to Bradford.  On our way back, we made an unplanned stop at Nunney Castle.  I wasn’t expecting much and was trying to limit the number of castles on our trip (the children have seen many, many castles in their time), but it really was worth the stop.  Located in the town of Nunney (just off the A361), there is no fee and a nice car park up the hill from the castle.  If you have anyone in your group hoping to see a fairy tale type castle, this would fit the bill.  The complete water filled moat around the castle truly does make it a very striking place.

 

This made a nice and easy half day trip from Bradford, but would be just as easy for anyone staying in Bath.  For anyone who is a fan of the wonderful film Hot Fuzz, Wells was the filming location.  For those interested there are walking tours of the filming locations.

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