From our lodge in Rudge, we had a view of the Westbury Horse. There has been a white horse on the site for at least three hundred years or so - originally cut into the chalk hillside, it was filled in with concrete in the 1950s and painted white!
Wells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in Somerset, named after the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew (one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral).
The Bishop's Palace:
Wells Cathedral is known for its fine fan vaulted ceilings, the Chapter House at the top of a flight of stone stairs, and the scissor arch of the west facade - parts of which date back to the 10th century. The front of the cathedral is said to be the finest collection of statuary in Europe, containing 356 individual figures carved from the cathedral's warm, yellow Doulting stone.
The Medieval Clock, still working, originally marked out the many services conducted during the day at the cathedral. The majority of the clock is inside, but there is an exterior facade as well.
After Wells, we drove through the beautiful Cheddar Gorge to the Wookey Hole Caves, which had made such an impression on me 20 years ago. The caves (pronounced Woo-kee, not as in Chewbacca, though I've had a giggle about that a few times) were formed by the River Axe, which passes underground through the limestone. The majority of the caves are underwater, but have otherwise been visited by people for around 50,000 years. The constant temperature is now used to mature locally produced Cheddar cheese.
The cave is noted for the Witch of Wookey Hole - a roughly human shaped rock outcrop, reputedly turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury.
And that's me beside her petrified dog (a later addition to the legend).
The caves are as impressive as some of ours from back home, except they've used coloured lights throughout. I quite liked these, but Anna wasn't impressed. It's certainly not very conservationally-minded.
The whole experience is rather directed at children, and outside the cave is a park of fibreglass dinosaurs, a working paper mill, and an amusement house with a penny arcade (which no longer holds quite the same mystique for me as it once did).
On our way back to Weston-super-mare:
Farewell Weston!
Wells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in Somerset, named after the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew (one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral).
The Bishop's Palace:
Wells Cathedral is known for its fine fan vaulted ceilings, the Chapter House at the top of a flight of stone stairs, and the scissor arch of the west facade - parts of which date back to the 10th century. The front of the cathedral is said to be the finest collection of statuary in Europe, containing 356 individual figures carved from the cathedral's warm, yellow Doulting stone.
The Medieval Clock, still working, originally marked out the many services conducted during the day at the cathedral. The majority of the clock is inside, but there is an exterior facade as well.
After Wells, we drove through the beautiful Cheddar Gorge to the Wookey Hole Caves, which had made such an impression on me 20 years ago. The caves (pronounced Woo-kee, not as in Chewbacca, though I've had a giggle about that a few times) were formed by the River Axe, which passes underground through the limestone. The majority of the caves are underwater, but have otherwise been visited by people for around 50,000 years. The constant temperature is now used to mature locally produced Cheddar cheese.
The cave is noted for the Witch of Wookey Hole - a roughly human shaped rock outcrop, reputedly turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury.
And that's me beside her petrified dog (a later addition to the legend).
The caves are as impressive as some of ours from back home, except they've used coloured lights throughout. I quite liked these, but Anna wasn't impressed. It's certainly not very conservationally-minded.
The whole experience is rather directed at children, and outside the cave is a park of fibreglass dinosaurs, a working paper mill, and an amusement house with a penny arcade (which no longer holds quite the same mystique for me as it once did).
On our way back to Weston-super-mare:
Farewell Weston!
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