Cheddar Gorge and Wells Cathedral

Yesterday it was scorching hot and just the weather for some countryside drives so we decided to go to Cheddar Gorge.

I haven't been to Cheddar for many many years and had forgotten how lovely it is there.  The sky was a deep blue colour and driving through the gorge with the roof down gave some fabulous views.

I forgot to take my camera out with me yesterday so had to rely on the camera on my mobile phone but the photos are not too bad at all!

We saw people climbing the gorge, which must have been an experience though not one I could manage!  There were also goats climbing and sheep loose on the side of the roads that didn't seem to worry about the traffic driving past them!

You can buy a pass to enter the caves but we did bother as it was too nice a day to be inside of a cave!  You can also take an open top bus tour through the gorge.

There are lots of cheese and cider shops which also sell all kinds of locally made chutneys and jams and there is a cheese making factory where you can see the cheese being made.  There were quite a few sweet shops selling handmade sweets and they had the machines on display actually making the sweets as well.

This photo shows one of the few clouds in the sky and it was a spectacular one!!  It poked out over the top of the gorge like a Mr Whippy ice cream and looks soft and fluffy!!

After driving around the gorge for a while we headed across to Wells and were lucky enough to be able to pop into Wells Cathedral before it closed for the day.

The Cathedral is a spectacular building, we were there at around 6pm and the sun gave it a lovely glow.

 The photo below shows the centre part of the West Front and depicts the day of judgement.  Christ is flanked by two six winged seraphim and supported by the twelve apostles, angels and saints to welcome the seeker into New Jerusalem.

The cathedral is very old and building work started in 1175 and it took eighty years to complete the first phase building from east to west resulting in the fantastic 'West Front' shown in the above photos.

There is so much detail on the cathedral front.  It is built from a local limestone which in the afternoon sun seems to glow.

The inside is is also stunning and you can walk though the cathredral and  go all around the walls and reach the other side of the cathedral from where you started.  The roof of the cathedral is very decorative.

If you look towards the Nave there is a scissor like arch which dates back to mediaeval times (1338-48)

Towards the back of the Cathedral there are several smaller chapels and some very worn steps that lead to the Chapter House.  This was competed in 1306  The Chapter House is a stunning octagonal chamber.
At the moment there is an exhibition showing the Turin Shroud here.

I would really recommend a trip to Wells to see the Cathedral as it is a superb building with lots of interesting  things to see inside.  Don't miss the clock which dates back to 1390.  When the clock strikes on the quarter, jousting knights rush around above it and the Quarter Jack bangs the quarter hours with his heels.

There is a market in Wells on a Wednesday and Saturday so those are good days to visit Wells.  The market had closed by the time we got there sadly!