The City Of Wells ....    Of course, the Wells Cathedral is a must see and most days there is a service with either the mens, womens or boys and girls choirs singing.  Each Wednesday and Saturday the village has a market and antique day when all the locals buy their fruit, cheeses, meat and vegetables.  On our first Saturday in Wells the Morris Dancers were performing on the village green just outside the Cathedral.  We must admit it was not the best of days but we watched these dancers who are a mixture of men and women perform in the cold and wet weather.  The Morris Dancers origin is lost in the mists of time but is a form of folk dancing by trained men and women who dress up in costumes and dance in sets of 6 with either waving handkerchiefs or with wooden sticks.  Their costumes are most interesting with rows of bells tied around their knees, and fancy rag patchwork coats and flower trimmed hats.   If you would like to experience the Morris Dancers for yourself  "click here"  to go to a youtube link.

Our First Day Exploring ....   Our first day trip was south through Dorset and Devon.  We visited the town of Lyme Regis a seaside town on the coast where we had our "must have" clotted cream and scones in this very quaint seaside cottage set up as a tea room.   It was so rich and wonderful that we were able to skip lunch that day. The buildings and houses in some of these villages are stunning and the architecture varies from one area to the next.   Beer was another beautiful little town along the coast so you can imagine there was so many oohs and aahs as we spent the day exploring the area. Many of the wildflowers are in bloom including the bluebells.  They just become a blue sea of flowers amongst trees and then there are the blossoms and all the leaves on the trees coming out.  The weather was rather coolish but it did not stop us from sightseeing.

Time For A Bath ....   Our trip to Bath was another days outing.  The best way to visit Bath by car is to use the "Park and Ride" just out of the town.  A bus then drops you right in the centre of Bath with no problem with parking in this very touristy town.  The day was nice and sunny, so we wandered around Bath visiting the attractions, including Sally Lunns Tea House,which was built in 1492 and is the oldest house in Bath.  It is very popular with tourists who get a seat inside to taste the famous Sally Lunn Bun.  Sally Lunn did not arrive until 1680 but she brought with her the sweet brioche bun that became so famous in Bath. There are the Roman Baths, The Pump Room and Bath Cathedral.  All are open to the tourist but be prepared to pay an entrance fee for all of them.  We walked to the Royal Crescent and The Circus, beautiful apartment buildings that are now heritage listed.  The Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses, laid out in a crescent.  Designed by the architect John Wood and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom.  We also took the opportunity to walk down to the Avon River and the Pultney Bridge.  The bridge is interesting because it contains small antique and gift shops along each side similar to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence but definitely not as grand.

The Oldest Continually Licensed Pub In England, We Found It .....   On our way home we visited The George Inn that claims to be the oldest continually  licensed pub in England dating back to the 12 century.  The pub is at Norton St Philip not far from Bath so we had to stop for a glass of ale and wine.  Then to finish the day off Jan and Ian took us to Kilmersdon.  It was here that the "Jack and Jill" nursery rhymeis claimed to have originated.  We climbed the hill to the well and as we all know Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.  Jack died and Jill died not long after, leaving a son named Gilson to be brought up by the village people. We all managed to make it to the top and down again without an accident.  A night out for dinner at The Swan Pub in Wells that evening with some people Jan and Ian had been introduced to earlier,  finished off a great day.

A Calm Journey ....    After spending our first week in Wells, it was time to head off to Ireland with Jan and Ian.  We were to drive to Fishgard in Wales which is a 4 hour drive from Wells.  Fortunately you can bypass Bristol using the M4 Motorway which crosses the Severn River via a toll bridge into Southern Wales. About two thirds of the journey is via Motorway then the road drops to a single lane each way. We left early so we had the opportunity to visit a couple of beautiful villages along the way including Newgale with its expanse of rocks forming their beach and Solva a superb village with the houses and shops painted in bright colours.  Timing allowed us to have lunch at Fishguard before boarding the ferry for the 3 1/2 hour journey to Ireland.  We travelled in style in the first class Stena Plus lounge. It was a most comfortable voyage on the calm Irish Sea to Rosslare Harbour and to our B & B for the night.   The next morning after an Irish Breakfast including black pudding we headed south following the coast for our 11 day adventure in Ireland.