A Treasure Trail around Wells
I have been wanting to visit Wells in Somerset for ages, but never quite made it……..until now.
Wells is the smallest city in England, nestled at the foot of the Mendip Hills, and famed for its medieval architecture and for being the stage for the brilliant film Hot Fuzz.
The one thing that worried me about wanting to explore a town, was that the kids would be bored and spoil it, but we went armed with a Treasure Trails challenge which kept them occupied as we explored and enjoyed everything the city had to offer.
The treasure trails challenge is an imaginative way to explore towns, cities & villages across the UK with a self-guided themed walk. The route was easy to follow and took us to places we would never had explored to enable you to crack the clues whilst taking in some of the most fascinating sights along the way and we started outside the town hall.
Our first port of call was Bishops Palace where, legend has it, that in the 13th century, Somerset was terrorised by a frightful dragon who liked to eat milkmaids and other unsuspecting villagers. Bishop Jocelyn – who built The Bishop’s Palace – bravely ventured out to kill the dragon. After a mighty battle, as the dragon breathed its dying breath, it cast an eternal curse on the villagers – that if they ever forgot about it, the creature would return every 50 years……. hence this mosaic of the story.
The treasure trail led us all around the outside of the palace where we found clues around every corner to try to solve a cluedo like murder mystery by using names and dates and plaques.
The palace is surrounded by a moat and the kids loved spotting the fish in the water and the water was so clear that you could see the ducks as they dived below the surface.
Wells is stunning city and solving the clues as we walked around kept the kids occupied as we enjoyed the sights.
Some of the clues were easy to solve and others a little more challenging as they led us through the High Street and to St Cuthbert’s Church, which featured heavily in the film Hot Fuzz.
One of the answers we had to find was at the church and we could not find it, but luckily you get up to three cheats and can text to get the answer.
From St Cuthbert’s the trail led us around the back of the High Street and towards The Cathedral Church of St Andrew.
Just across the road from is Vicars Close which is claimed to be the oldest purely residential street with original buildings surviving intact in Europe.
With manicured lawns and symmetrical houses it is quite simply stunning and in my opinion outshone the Cathedral.
The trail then led us back across to the cathedral whose architecture which is entirely Gothic and mostly in the Early English style of the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
We were going to head inside but by now the kids were really hot so we decided to find the final clue and treat the kids to ice creams.
We all thoroughly enjoyed taking part in our Treasure Trail around Wells and when we got home we headed to the website to see if we had solved the clues correctly. Thankfully we were successful and got to print out a certificate to prove it.
The Trails are great for seeing a location from a new perspective, whatever age, whatever the weather and can be downloaded anytime day or night for you to print off at home, or they can pop one in the post for you. There are over 1000 trails to choose from, so should be one near you!
Priced at just £6.99 (plus any P&P), you only need one Trail booklet per family/group of up to 4-5 people and enter your answer online for a chance to win £100!
Have you visited Wells?
Cheryl Churm
I trail around Wells brings out its treasures 🙂
Donna
I really love this kind of day out with the kids, so much to see and explore -m looks fab!
Kate | Veggie Desserts
I live really close to Wells, but I’ve never been. I’m definitely going to take the kids on the treasure trail this summer. Such a great day out over the hols!
Talya
I haven’t been to Wells in a long time but it’s such a beautiful place and a lovely spot to explore with the children as this clearly shows!
Jennifer durrans
So sweet and the palace looks so regal and royal! Thanks for sharing!
Helen
What a beautiful place – must add it to our ‘to visit’ list! I love the idea of doing a treasure trail as a way of discovering somewhere new 🙂
angela hamilton
It looks really beautiful. What a fun and educational day out. I love days out like this. The treasure trail is a great way to see somewhere new x
Becca Talbot
I always thought that Ripon was the smallest city in England – so I learnt something new! Looks like you all had a great family day out though 🙂 x
Maria
I love historic centres like these, and I never really fully appreciated it until I left the UK. Looks like an awesome place for the kids!
Debbie
I like a self-guided walk even for adults, it lets you explore places you might not have seen normally. It looks like you had a good time and Wells looks beautiful.
Elizabeth
I’ve not been to Wells before but it looks super pretty. I’ll add it to my list!
Laura
My daughter is probably still a bit too young for a treasure trail but I have bookmarked them for when she’s a bit older, looks like a fun day out.
Alina
I absolutely love English history and Wells seems like the perfect place for it. The architecture looks amazing and it’s nice that the whole family has something to enjoy 🙂
Jen Walshaw
Wells is such a beautiful place. It was the first place that me and the husbeast had a romantic weekend away. I love the cathedral, it is just beautiful
Kate Williams
‘the kids would get bored and spoil it’ – that has to be the truest thing I’ve read today 😉 I’ve got a friend who lives near Wells, will have to give this a go when we visit.
Ami Rose
I visited Wells in 2015 for a blog trip but had NO IDEA that it was the setting of Hot Fuzz, one of my favourite films! It makes me want to go back and see if I can find any scenes from the movie! Looks like you had a fab time.
Ami xxx
Helen
I’ve not heard of Trails before but it sounds a great way to explore a city and keep everyone busy and interested. Wells looks a gorgeous place to visit, you had great weather for it too!
Laura Clark
What a fab way to keep the kids occupied on a trip like this, love it. I love Hot Fuzz so think I’d really enjoy this trip too 🙂
Baby Isabella
We loved visiting Wells last year! My folks wanted to visit because they loved the film HOT FUZZ and followed the film route around. sound like you guys had a great time!
Kira
I’ve heard a lot about Wells recently but never realised that’s where they filmed Hot Fuzz, I love that movie! It’s such a beautiful place to visit!
Musings of a tired mummy...zzz...
This looks like such a fun activity, I’ll head over to see if there is anywhere local to us that runs one. Wells looks stunning!
Holly - Little Pickle's Mom
Ahh I love the sound of this! I’m off to Bath this weekend, so even though it’s only a group of women (leaving the children at home) I quite like the idea of having a trail to follow… I may see if there’s a Bath one!
Newcastle Family Life
My mum grew up in Wells, I have never visited before and how no idea how pretty it was. xx
Leah Lander-Shafik
I love the treasure trail. I have wanted to take my nephews and nieces to one for a while. We aren’t near Somerset but I do think it would be great to find one close by x
Ana De- Jesus
Ooh a treasure trail sounds like a lot of fun. It was so interesting to find out that it is the smallest city as well x
Suzy Mccullough
Ah beautiful Wells. I love it when towns and cities have an organised trail that gets you exploring the town in ways you wouldn’t normally see them. Your photos have made me want to visit. Such a lovely part of England
Angela
a treasure trail is a great idea, I didn’t realise these existed. Something to definitely look into.
Emma Raphael
Wells is so gorgeous. Always a fan of a treasure trail to keep children (and husbands!) occupied while you explore a place. Lovely pictures! 🙂
Mayah Thomas
Looks like you had a really nice time! Some great pictures captured.
London Mumma
A bit far for me, but I do love a good treasure trail, perfect family day out.