Wells

It was market day in Wells, so we had fun browsing around. Keith headed for the books while Ursula and I looked at beautiful jewellery. We met up with Susannah and her girls and fed the ducks and swans. The sun was shining and it was as if the entire town of Wells and its surrounds were making the most of this golden autumn day.



It was such a contrast to last weekend that we spent with Stephen and Lynn - another of my cousins. It had rained the entire weekend and it hadn't cleared until we were heading home on Sunday evening.

There is an incredible cathedral in Wells which was built in 1180. Just a few years ago. The inside is fairly sparsely furnished and lacks the memorial plaques and heavy furniture found in so many other cathedrals. The stained glass windows had been destroyed during the Reformation, and were replaced with plain glass which lets much light enter, which makes it light and airy. There is this amazing scissors archway at the front of the cathedral which had been a clever construction in the late 1100s to stop the cathedral from sinking into the muddy land. The result is a spectacularly shaped arch that looks beautiful in its simplicity.





The girls, Florence and Sophia had a children's activity sheet with questions about different parts of the cathedral that kept them happy and amused. We watched the clock chime - a little man taps a bell with his foot while some armoured soldiers chase each other around with their weapons while the chimes ring. To take photographs, you need to buy a licence, so I resisted and had to restrain my hands. It became too much when we reached the staircase to the chapter house. These stairs have been worn down by being trodden on for so many centuries. What stories their worn down steps must share. So, I took a couple of snaps.



The chapter house was octagonal shaped and quite empty. It was a calm and tranquil place to just sit and enjoy the ceiling and its understated beauty.



We later wandered down this amazingly old cobbled street that is connected to the Cathedral and were passed by the Cathedral school choir, who were dressed immaculately - the girls wore long navy blue cloaks and looked angelic. We then were passed a group of girls returning home from hockey - wearing protective gear and short skirts and covered in mud. I would use the word athletic to describe them.



The sky was Sydney blue. It was warm and balmy. We wandered down back through the markets to find a loaf of crusty bread to go with our soup for dinner. One of the charms of the High Street of Wells, were the magnficent basket of flowers hanging in front of each shop.



One of the pubs was encouraging patrons to visit:



That evening, we again talked and talked in front of the fire and almost forgot to have dinner.