Wells, Somerset

Wells is England's smallest city, a title it has held since a royal charter in the twelfth century, yet it carries itself with a confidence that has nothing to do with size. At its centre stands Wells Cathedral, its honey-coloured West Front rising above a green where sheep once grazed and where visitors now picnic in its shadow. The city grew up around the wells and springs that give it its name, and that water still rises in the Bishop's Palace moat a few hundred yards from the market square.

Tucked beneath the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, Wells has long served as a quiet counterpoint to the crowds of Bath and Glastonbury, both under half an hour away by car. Its streets are compact and largely traffic-free around the cathedral precinct, so a visit here tends to unfold at walking pace: past independent bookshops and stonemasons' yards, through the thirteenth-century gatehouses, and into cloisters that have barely changed in five hundred years.

What sets Wells apart from other cathedral cities is how much of its medieval fabric survives intact and in use. Vicars' Close still houses cathedral staff, the Bishop's Palace is still the working home of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the twice-weekly market still trades on the same square it has occupied since 1201. Beyond the city, the Mendip Hills open out into limestone gorges, show caves and a scatter of villages that make Wells a natural base for exploring rural Somerset.

Top things to do in Wells, Somerset

Wells rewards slow exploration, but a handful of sights and experiences should anchor any visit.

• Wells Cathedral is the obvious starting point, with its scissor arches, medieval stained glass and the astronomical clock that has told the time since the 1390s.
• Bishop's Palace and Gardens sit behind a moat still patrolled by swans trained to ring a bell for food, with fourteen acres of gardens fed by the springs that give the city its name.
• Vicars' Close, a complete medieval residential street built in the 1300s to house the cathedral's choristers, is one of the oldest purely residential streets in Europe.
• Wells and Mendip Museum, next to the cathedral, covers the geology, archaeology and social history of the city and the surrounding hills in a manageable hour.
• Wookey Hole Caves, two miles outside the city, combine show caves carved by the River Axe with a paper mill and family attractions that have drawn visitors since Victorian times.
• The Wells Market Place hosts an open-air market every Wednesday and Saturday, a tradition dating back over eight centuries, selling local produce, cheese and crafts.
• St Cuthbert's Church, the city's parish church rather than the cathedral, has one of Somerset's finest Perpendicular towers and a restored medieval painted ceiling.
• Cheddar Gorge, roughly nine miles west, makes an easy half-day trip for its show caves, cliff-top walks and views across the Somerset Levels.

Getting to Wells, Somerset

Wells has had no railway station of its own since the Beeching cuts closed its lines in 1963, so the journey usually involves a short bus or taxi connection. The nearest mainline station is Castle Cary, roughly fourteen miles away, reached from London Paddington in around one hour forty minutes on the Great Western main line, with a connecting bus or taxi to finish the journey. Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa are both about twenty miles from Wells and have more frequent services from London, the Midlands and the South West; First Bus and other operators run regular routes from both cities into Wells bus station, a short walk from the cathedral.

By road, Wells sits at the meeting point of the A39, A371 and B3139, making it straightforward to reach from the M5 via junction 22 or 23, a drive of around twenty to thirty minutes depending on traffic. From Bath or Bristol the A39 is the most direct route through Mendip countryside; from the south, the A371 connects Wells to Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury. Central car parks include those at Princes Road, Tucker Street and the Cathedral's own car park on Chamberlain Street, all within a few minutes' walk of the Market Place, though spaces fill quickly on market days and during the summer season.

Best time to visit Wells, Somerset

Spring brings the Bishop's Palace gardens into bloom, with snowdrops and daffodils giving way to wisteria along the Palace walls by April and May, and the cathedral close is generally quiet outside school holidays. Summer is Wells at its busiest, with long evenings in the Cathedral Green, outdoor seating along the High Street and the Mendip countryside at its greenest for walking and cycling; this is also when Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge see their heaviest crowds, so early starts help. Autumn quietens the pace again and brings the Wells Food Festival in October, along with russet colour across the Mendip Hills and the last of the market's autumn produce. Winter sees Wells at its most atmospheric, with the cathedral hosting carol services and choral evensong beneath candlelight, a Christmas market around the Market Place, and log fires in the city's older pubs and inns.

Where to stay in Wells, Somerset

The streets immediately around the Market Place and Sadler Street put visitors within a two-minute walk of the cathedral and are the natural choice for a first visit, with historic coaching inns offering the most atmospheric rooms and the shortest walk to dinner. The area around Wookey Hole and the villages just outside the city, including Wookey and Croscombe, suit those who want a country setting with easy access to the caves and the Mendip Hills, and generally come with parking on site, which the city centre cannot always guarantee. Further out towards the Mendip Hills themselves, a handful of country houses set in their own grounds appeal to couples looking for a quieter, more secluded base with gardens and grounds to explore between trips into the city.

Food and drink in Wells, Somerset

Somerset's cider and cheese country begins on Wells' doorstep, and the city's food scene reflects it: local cheddar, Somerset cider brandy and orchard cider appear on menus across the city, often sourced from producers within a few miles. The twice-weekly market on Wednesdays and Saturdays remains the best place to buy direct from local farms, with stalls for cheese, meat, baked goods and seasonal produce trading in the shadow of the cathedral. The Crown at Wells and the Swan Hotel both run well-regarded restaurants serving modern British food built around West Country ingredients, while smaller independents along Sadler Street and the High Street offer everything from cafes and tearooms to a handful of ambitious dinner spots that draw visitors out from Bath and Bristol. Traditional pubs such as the City Arms, tucked into a former prison courtyard just off the Market Place, and the Fountain Inn near the cathedral close, serve local ales and ciders alongside pub food, and both are popular after-dinner options for visitors staying in the city centre.