Wells, Glastonbury and Somerset.

It seems amazing, but since my last post I have almost crossed Somerset and am about to enter Devon.  Due to accomodation dilemmas I have actually had 2 pack free days, making life very easy.  I arrived in Bath a day early and so used that day (New Years Eve) to walk without my pack, returning by bus later in the day.  What a bonus this turned out to be!  There is quite a long steady ascent leaving Bath and so without my pack I was able to head up at a far greater speed than if I was pack laden!

Once on top of the hill I was treated to some wonderful views, both back to Bath, but also out over the hills as I headed towards Radstock and Midsomer Norton, delighted to walk the whole way on very quiet back lanes.  This continued after New Year heading towards Wells.

 The views heading towards Misnomer Norton.

The churches in this region continue to have turret like walls. This one is in Midsomer Norton.

My friend Charlotte was instrumental in my going to Wells.  I had a hotel room that overlooked the expanse of green lawn straight to the Cathedral.  What a sight!  I think of this Cathedral as being simple - almost heavy, but solid.  It's feet seem to be so well planted on the grass, with the extraordinary carvings on the west facade, and then inside the great soaring space with so little adornment compared to other cathedrals I have seen, just beautiful, elegant lines.

 Wells Cathedral at night, complete with a moon!  This was the view from my bedroom window.

 Inside the Cathedral

The clock on the left is inside the Cathedral, and the one on the right is on the outside.

The cloisters at Wells Cathedral.

 Wells Cathedral in the early morning, complete with seagulls on the grass.

The ruins of the Bishops Palace in Wells.

The moat surrounding the Bishops Palace in Wells.  It was more for show than for defence.

 It was raining when I left Wells (above) ........

 ........ and it was from here that the waterlogged nature of the landscape became evident.  There was nothing for it but to go straight through the middle of it - the edge likely to be deeper and muddier!

 Looking back towards Wells over the waterlogged fields.

Glastonbury gives its name to a famous music festival, held nearby.  This is a town like no other I have visited.   Insence wafts from store doors, gem shops and crystal shops, along with cafes and book shops, proliferate, and I have seen more dreadlocks here than anywhere else in the UK.  It is also the place where the legendary King Arthur was buried. 

 A Glastonbury street scene.

 The abbey where king Arthur is supposed to be buried.

After leaving  Glastonbury the back lanes took me through a corner of Somerset to Othery, from where I caught a train to Taunton, returning the next day to continue from where I left off.  I couldn't believe how wet the area was.  I walked alongside Rhynes (pronounced Reens), a system of ditches that surround all the fields, with the periodic one being much deeper and wider.  They smelt, especially those that were being cleaned up to reduce flooding risk.  

Had I been walking this time last year I would not have been able to go this way as it was all under water from the massive floods.  One lady I spoke to told me that the water in her front yard was over her head, and she had swans floating on her front lawn!  People are still waiting for their homes to be made habitable again, twelve months later.

In the pub I was hit with a barrage of questions and comments from the locals, all speaking with a loud Somerset accent.  One bloke told me how hard it was to move about during the floods (the water hung around for about three months), and he also told me about a field of solar panels.  The farmer has rented the field, useless for cropping or grazing, to the power company for the next 20 years at a £1,000 per acre per year.  As the paddock is about 24 acres I'd say he is on a nice little earner!  I also had it confirmed that in summer mozzies make life miserable, something I'd been wondering about as many of the rhynes were filled with what looked like (and on occasion, smelt like) fairly stagnant water.

 There is not much evidence of the floods left, but this gate, by a fairly clean Rhyne, shows a little of flood rubbish.

 The peaty soils are harvested here.

 Even the mounds left by moles were black.

 Not only is this part of Somerset crossed by Rhynes but also droves, narrow roads used for moving stock around.  Like the rhynes they stretch in long straight lines across the landscape.  With the open countryside this was a difficult path to walk in a head wind!

This part of Somerset also has a willow industry.  Both growing the willow, and the associated basket crafts.

 A willow garden ornament at the willow visitor centre.

Walking into Staunton I briefly followed the Bridgewater - Taunton canal.