Wells

Wells....a fantastic last day in England

Another stage of a wonderful trip has come to an end. And what a last day it was!

Susan had very kindly offered to drop me at the Arora Airport Hotel in London on her way back to Great Chesterford from Somerset. We decided it would be a great opportunity to stop off at Wells on the way through and have  a look around at this beautiful Cathedral city.

Geoffrey and the dogs came along separately in Geoffrey's car. He's not driving back until Wednesday, but was keen to show me around the Cathedral and Bishop's Palace. He has an amazing knowledge of history, and I've really benefited by his acting as my personal tour guide. Who needs those cumbersome earphones and audio tours when you have a Geoffrey on hand?

Before we went into Wells, we first stopped off in a nearby town  for a pub lunch at "The George" hotel. This hotel was highly recommended in the pub guide, and they also allowed dogs in the bar.Sadly the guide failed to mention the difficulty of parking anywhere near the hotel. It has a pocket handkerchief sized carpark and absolutely no on-road parking within cooee of the place.
We almost turned around and went to Wells instead, but then a patron came out and drove out of the carpark so Geoffrey quickly swooped in their spot. Likewise Susan eventually found a parking spot. We were in! After our enormous meals at the "Bird in Hand" on Sunday, we all ordered the "small" versions of our meals. When they came out, they filled the large plates.....what must the "large" version look like?

We were very lucky to find parking spaces easily in Wells fairly close to the Cathedral. Walking through the city streets it was obvious that this was a prosperous town. Almost every business in the main streets sponsored a floral display of some kind outside their premesis. It made the whole place look fresh an clean.They appeared to be thriving businesses too. Maybe due to the many tourists that the Cathedral attracts. It is superb!!!!

It is almost jaw-dropping to see the very ornately decorated Western face of the Cathedral for the first time. Then when you enter the Cathedral you gasp and gasp again everywhere you turn. It is dramatically beautiful architecture. You could just stare up at the ceilings for hours. Of course there was no time for that and we had a rather high speed tour. I think Geoffrey can't quite grasp my style of sightseeing, but he did manage to keep up a running commentary as we sped around. We walked up the well worn steps of the Chapter House, which was built in 1306. This octagonal chamber was where the clergy met to transact Cathedral business and is still used for that purpose today. The huge central pillar with supporting beams fanning out to the other support columns around the room keep the structures of the roof from collapsing in on itself.

Likewise the remarkable scissor arches in the Nave is the medieval solution to sinking tower foundations.

The Wells Clock is one of the oldest medieval clock faces in the world. On the quarter hour the jousting knights go round in tournament.  Much of the church was lucky to escape the destruction during the English Civil War. You can see some of the damage done to sculptures down low, but higher up stained glass and sculptures remained intact.

We walked around the outside too, and down to the Vicar's close. This street was completed in 1363 to house the men of the choir and is the oldest continuously occupied street in Europe. Wells still is noted for its choirs and we heard them practising as we passed by.

Lastly we walked down to the Bishops Palace across the moat which has swans swimming in it. The current Bishop wanted to not reside here due to the "disturbance" caused by so many tourists, but his bid to have his own home built at vast expense to the church was vetoed.

We re-met up with Susan and the dogs. She had been surrounded by American tourists who were admiring and patting Daisy and Bella and missing their own dogs back home.
We had a cup of tea and cake in a local tea shop before saying farewell.
It was so sad to say goodbye. I have been thoroughly spoiled bythem both and I will remember this holiday forever.