by Janis / 0 comments - Orginally published:6th August 2024

Cathedral’s, a palace, the Magna Carta and Sergeant Angel

We’ve wanted to visit the beautiful cities of Wells and Salisbury in the southwest of England for some time now, the incredible history and stunning architecture looked amazing.

Now that we have our new Polestar 2 EV, it was a perfect excuse to take it on its first mini road trip and explore Wells and Salisbury, its surrounding countryside. We may even throw in a couple of National Trust sites.

Wells, England’s smallest city, is located in the county of Somerset and is around 40 miles (30 km) southwest of the stunning city of Bath. Then, a short hop east, and we’ll explore the Cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

So, without further ado, here are our inspirations for visiting these two ancient cities.

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Where are Wells and Salisbury

Where to stay in Wells and Salisbury

The Swan Hotel

This charming 15th-century coaching inn is in the beating heart of Wells. It has plenty of character and friendly staff.

Onsite parking is available and complimentary; we have a large EV and were able to charge it overnight for free.

Mercure Salisbury White Hart Hotel

This elegant Georgian hotel is in the historic centre of Salisbury. Its rooms are modern, quiet and had welcoming, friendly staff.

Private parking is available, and the daily charge is very reasonable.

Exploring Wells & Salisbury’s rich history

Two cities with so much to offer

The ancient settlement of Wells gained its city status when the splendid cathedral was built in 1175, during medieval times. Wells Cathedral looks absolutely stunning, I couldn’t wait to visit and stroll through its ancient cloister.

Wells lays claim to be England’s smallest city; however, the City of London also boats the same status, I think I’ll let them fight it out.

The ornate west-facing side of wells cathedrals in the golden light of early evening

Wells Cathedral

The name of Wells is understandably derived from the three wells within this ancient city. Two of the wells are within the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace, and one well is in Market Place. They are dedicated to Saint Andrew.

I was so looking forward to wending our way amongst the delightful lanes of Wells and sitting down in Cathedral Green to watch the sunset across the beautiful church.

The two towers either side of the drawbridge that crosses the moat around the archbishops palace in wells, somerset
Gatehouse and Bishop’s Palace

Just a short stroll through Penniless Porch and Bishop’s Eye, and we’ll stumble upon the Bishop’s Palace and enchanting gardens. Two of its historic ‘wells’ sourced from the Mendip Hills can be found here.

The medieval Bishop’s Palace and Gardens are set within 14 acres of stunning scenery. We’ll visit the palace, where the Bishop of Wells has resided for over 800 years.

The palace’s construction began in 1210 adjacent to Wells Cathedral; the chapel and Great Hall were added towards the end of the 13th century.

The view of the west end of salisbury cathedral, showing its impressive spire and gothic architecture glistening in the sunlight under a blue sky
Salisbury Cathedral

The city of Salisbury is also full of incredible history, especially with the UNESCO megalithic structure of Stonehenge just 8 miles (13km) north of the city. Also, Old Sarum, where Salisbury Cathedral once stood, has 2,000 years of heritage from the Romans, Normans and Saxons.

Salisbury Cathedral stands so elegant within the city and is a grand, majestic structure across Salisbury’s skyline. We’ll certainly be visiting the Cathedral as we wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to see the Magna Carta. The ancient Royal Charter was written in 1215.

The medieval stone high street gate leading to choristers square in salisbury, wiltshire
High Street Gate
The view from the new walk to the historic saint ann’s gate in salisbury to Mompesson House on the edge.
St Ann’s Gate
Building began on the New Sarum in 1221, and stones from the Old Sarum were used in its construction. Salisbury was granted city status in 1227 by King Henry III. During the 14th century, city walls were constructed to surround the Close. Some of the city walls remain, along with five city gates.

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Discovering Wells and Salisbury’s architecture

Worthy of a movie set
The quaint historic centre of Wells, Market Place, is full of so much character. It’s hard to believe at times that charming places like this have survived the test of time and remain beautifully preserved. Still, equally, they witness the day-to-day lives of the local residents.
The market place at wells with its iconic fountain in the foreground and the iconic towers of wells cathedral in the background
Wells, Market Place
One street in Wells we’ll be undoubtedly searching out is Vicars’ Close, a 15th century residential street by the cathedral. Vicars’ Close is Europe’s oldest purely residential street, with its original buildings intact. There are 27 residences, all Grade I listed buildings.
The two rows of 15th-century houses that make up vicar's close, with wells cathedral in the background
Vicars’ Close facing Wells Cathedral
Salisbury’s Cathedral Close and Choristers Square have an incredible array of stunning architecture surrounding it, including The Salisbury Museum in The King’s House, The Rifles Museum in The Wardrobe and Mompesson House, a National Trust site in Choristers Square.
The view from the edge of choristers square in salibury to Mompesson House on the edge.
Salisbury’s Choristers Square
Although one house we will be visiting is Arundells, the historic home of former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath. Ted Heath was an MP in Gary’s constituency when he was young. He was born in Broadstairs, which is in our home county of Kent, and he also spent a lot of time on the Isle of Wight, where I used to live.

Map, guides and more

Wells is located in the lush county of Somerset and nestled on the edge of the Mendip Hills. This region of England is perfect for hikes. Head off and discover Wookey Hole Caves and the Cheddar Gorge. To explore 28 delightful walks in this region, you’ll want the Ordnance Survey Somerset and the Mendips Pathfinder guidebook no. 76.

Alternatively, why not purchase and download the OS Maps App, which covers all of Great Britain.

Wells on the silver-screen

And delightful things to discover

If any of you are fans of the movie Hot Fuzz, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, you’ll undoubtedly recognise ‘Market Place’ in Wells. Gary and I love the film, and it felt like we’d strolled into the heart of the movie.

The Market Place fountain sitting prominent in the square, the historic gateway of Bishop’s Eye can be seen at the top of the cobbled-stone street, and the façade of The Crown Inn is welcoming you in. Although the interior of the pub wasn’t used you can enjoy a pint of the ale “Hot Fuzz”.

A view of the crown inn at dusk in wells market place, somerset
The Crown, Wells

In Wells there are many references to swans, you’ll spot a few of these elegant birds in the moat around Bishop’s Palace. These beautiful swans have been trained to ring the Palace Gatehouse bell for food. By pulling on the rope at the gatehouse window, the bell would chime as a cue for them to be fed.

The first swans were trained by one of Bishop Hervey’s daughters in the 1870s, and you can still see them ringing the bell today.

A white swan an seven grey cygnets in the waters of the archbishops palace in wells, somerset
Swan in Bishop’s Palace, Wells

There is a couple of other interesting things to look out for in Wells and Salisbury, the first being the memorial to Harry Patch, Harry Patch’s memorial sits opposite Wells Cathedral.

Harry Patch was named “the Last Fighting Tommy”, he was the last surviving trench combat soldier of the First World War from any country when he died on 25th July 2009 at the age of 111 years and 38 days.

A full-size replica of a spitfire world war two fighter plane on a pole at the secret spitfires memorial in salisbury
Secret Spitfires Memorial

The other memorial to visit is in Salisbury and this is the Secret Spitfires Memorial north of the city.

Due to the bombing of Spitfire factories in Southampton, production was secretly dispersed across other places in southern England, one of them being Salisbury.

These factories were predominately staffed by young ladies who had no previous mechanical experience. In total over 2,000 Spitfires were produced from small factories and home-based workshops to the support WWII.

Tourist Information

If you’re tempted to Visit Wells or Visit Salisbury, the local tourist office provides some extremely useful information and handy pointers for around both cities.

Beyond Wells and Salisbury

Further adventures

Of course, this road trip wouldn’t be complete unless we went in search of extraordinary landscape, and what could be better than driving through the depths of the Cheddar Gorge.

The village of Cheddar is not only famous for its cheese, but there is also a limestone gorge here, just on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.

Our magnesium silver polestar 2 in a layby in the cheddar gorge in somerset, england
Cheddar Gorge

Prior to heading to Cheddar Gorge, we will pop into the laid-back town of Glastonbury, famed for its legendary festival. Glastonbury is in the county of Somerset and has a similar relaxed vibe as the summer music festival.

It’s a delightful town to stroll around and has plenty of character and history, including Glastonbury Abbey ruins which date from 712.

The view along the colourful magdalene street to the crown inn on market place in glastonbury sumerset
Glastonbury town

We also have a planned stop at Stourhead House in Wiltshire, a stunning National Trust site famed for its exquisite, landscaped gardens and Palladian house. Stourhead House was one of the first Palladian-style villas in England to have a carriage entrance, leading into the main floor.

The grand gardens are the main attraction at Stourhead, you can wend your way around the vast lake and pop into the circular Temple of Apollo, the majestic Pantheon inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and discover the mystical grottos.

The palladian bridge and pantheon at stourhead next to the edge of the lake, set in lush green woodland on a bright day

Stourhead House Gardens

On our way home, we plan is to visit Mottisfont House and Garden in Hampshire. This lovely house has witnessed many transformations over the last eight centuries. Mottisfont House is now managed by the National Trust and has been lovingly maintained is the style of a 1930s neo-classical home to reflect the life of its last owner, the society hostess Maud Russell.
A walled garden at the national trust mottisfont house in hampshire
Mottisfont gardens

One of the reasons we plan to visit is to explore the charming and colourful walled garden and inhale the sweet aroma of the hypnotic lavender-lined pathways.

The kitchen garden is a new arrival at Mottisfont, as it has since been rediscovered and restored. Raised beds have been added and full of vegetables, herbs, including many medicinal varieties.

Escape for a few days

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