A Wander around Wells | A look for Wells' Stations | Somerset

[@faithg9766]

What a beautiful city Wells is. This could almost have been a railway video, thanks Paul.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Yes! I hadn't intended for it originally to have railway content in - unusually for me, this video was unscripted and unplanned! It kind of morphed into what you saw on screen on the day. Wells is a truly stunning city, and a delight to wander around. Merry Christmas to you Faith. Paul

[@JanetWilson-f2f]

Wells is a lovely City nice to see Louise too. Another enjoyable video thank you Paul. Jan

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Jan! Glad you enjoyed it. It is certainly one of my and Louise's favourite places, and the concert was fantastic. Take care, Paul

[@IamaDutch-Kiwi]

Paul, another gem and of a place I've not been to. The world is a treasure trove of beautiful places to visit. The architecture, history and greenery. Yes, and railways- 🤣! Love them too. Enjoyed the walk through town. Quite a wintery video with the glow of the lights against the buildings. Very atmospheric. Enjoyed watching. Thank you. 🎄🇳🇱🧑‍🎄🥝

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Anita! Yes, Wells is a stunningly beautiful City (the smallest in England) - what do they say about best things coming in small packages? Certainly very true here. Well worth a visit if you can. I think the wet cobbles helps with the reflections to make it more atmospheric. Take care, and Merry Christmas! Paul

[@malcolmrichardson3881]

It's some years since I last visited Wells, finding much of interest within its cosy precincts - and also some great views of the cathedral from the wooded slopes above. I also remember seeing evidence of the former railways and understand there are plans to reopen the 'Strawberry Line' from Shepton Mallet to Wells at some point.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Malcolm! Glad you enjoyed it. There certainly is a lot to discover in Wells. I think there are some embryonic plans to reopen a railway to Wells from the Witham Friary/Shepton Mallet direction as a branch line. It would be great to see. A lot more of the 'Strawberry Line' from Wells to Yatton will become a cycleway/footpath, which is great news too. Kind Regards, Paul

[@juliesmith6063]

Wow, Paul, what a lovely city! we really enjoyed watching this video, Wells looks such a beautiful place, we aim to visit Wells next year and hope to stay at the Swan Hotel thankyou for sharing this video look forward to seeing more videos from you Regards Gary and Julie Smith.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Gary & Julie! Glad you enjoyed this little video. I am sure you'll enjoy Wells next year. I don't know if you saw Louise's video about our trip to Wells, but she did a review and tour of the Swan Hotel in detail. I have a couple more Christmas videos still to come, and a couple of other videos before Christmas Day. Kind Regards, Paul

[@qsmdman]

Thanks!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you! That is very kind of you. Take care, Paul

[@DarylW426]

I would love to see the festivities at the church. I'm sure it was quite the event. Very beautiful city. Thank you Paul.👍

[@westcountrywanderings]

Hi Daryl! Yes, first time I had ever been to a live 'studio' recording for broadcast (in this case, radio) - it is going out on Christmas Day. They had to do a few re-takes, but not many. It was most enjoyable and very festive too. Wells is a stunning small City with a vast array of history. Glad you enjoyed it. Take care, Paul

[@Somersetmanwalking]

Another great Video Paul, very informative and interesting, great Photo's! really enjoyable, Thank you! Best wishes Darren👌👍👍👍

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Darren! Glad you enjoyed it. I think the wet cobbled streets made the photos more effective with the reflections. The twilight light in the sky helped too. Wells is probably my favourite City in the Westcountry. Kind Regards, Paul

[@davidberlanny3308]

Hi Paul, This was a seven swan video!! Its a lovely town, I remembered bits of it from your Christmas Market video last year. Hope you both enjoyed the concert, I'm sure you will have done. I do enjoy these discoveries on Blue plaques and the other one inset into the wall of the building. I don't know the area, but I can imagine its grown since the railway was taken out of service, maybe they regret now having built over the railway lines? Nonethless the good shed repurposing was very tastefully done, lucky cats and dogs!! The plaque showing all the routes was good to see so its railway history isnt totally forgotten. Its always sad to see the old photos of last trains out or when the buildings are derelict but even so I do enjoy seeing them!! I enjoyed the outro with all the photos, really well put together Been very cold down here the last few days I'm sure the northerly winds will have passed over yourselves on the way down here All the best!!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you David! Really great to hear from you. Hope you are keeping well. Yes, I think Wells is probably my favourite City in the Westcountry Wanderings Region. Small (ish), compact and very historic. It was good to see the plaque but I think there are (were?) a couple of others marking the other stations too - they may have been temporarily been moved while the building works at Lidl take place - maybe they will move them to the car park there. Glad you enjoyed the photos on the outro - yes, wet cobbled streets and Christmas Lights at twilight makes a good combination I think. Hope you have a great weekend! Take care, Paul

[@geoffreystevens663]

I've been to Wells many, many times but had no idea it had three railway stations. Amazing. And the scale of that junction! Great video, thank you.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Geoffrey! It is probably my favourite City in the Westcountry. It was a huge junction - hard to believe now what a complex of railway lines Wells once had. Kind Regards, Paul

[@michaelmiller641]

Great video Paul. I visited wells Bath and Glastonbury just before lockdown. it is a pity about the loss of those railways. Although the bus services are quite efficient there!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Michael! Yes, the bus service is quite frequent to Bristol Temple Meads, and there are services to Bath and Taunton too I think. Shame that for a City it had to lose all of its railways though. Glad you enjoyed it. Take care, Paul

[@NicolaExplores]

That was an interesting video, Paul. I especially liked learning about the history of the railway so thanks for showing us that.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Nicola! Glad you enjoyed it. Wells really is a super City; smallish, and compact, but packed with much of interest. Maybe one of the railways to Wells will reopen one day? Take care, Paul.

[@michaelpilling9659]

Hello Paul and greetings from Poland A lovely video from one of my favourite places. Beautifully photographed despite the inclement weather. The short railway feature was very interesting. I had no idea Wells had 3 stations at one time. I hope you and Louise enjoyed the concert.

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Michael! Yes, Wells is such a beautiful and historic city. The three railway station thing in Wells is odd, especially as no one seems to know or agree on what the name of the first station was (the East Somerset Railway to Witham Friary line, passing through Shepton Mallet and Cranmore). Some books mark it as East St, but there is no East Street in Wells! I think that is just an abbreviation for East Somerset. I cannot find any photos of it. Later, services were transferred to Tucker St. Station, with the Priory Rd. one being kept for the S&D Branchline services from Glastonbury, although that one closed too, just leaving Tucker St, before it closed in the 1960s. Not many cities in the UK are without a railway, nor anywhere near one! I can understand St. David's in Wales, not having one, as that really is a tiny place, but, Wells, although small for a city, is still an important place, and generates a lot of traffic, sadly now all by road. The concert was brilliant - first time I have ever been to a BBC live recording for a show. Looking forward to the final programme when it airs near Christmas on my radio. The sound of the music with the acoustics inside the church was fantastic. Thanks again Michael, Take care, Paul

[@michaelpilling9659]

Thanks for the information about the stations. You really are a fount of knowledge. A city without a railway station. Now that's a thought. St Davids in Pembrokeshire for sure. I wonder if there are any more?

[@michaelpilling9659]

I've found three more - St. Asaph in North Wales, Armagh in Northern Ireland and Ripon in North Yorkshire!

[@davidberlanny3308]

​@@michaelpilling9659Although not a city, I believe Gosport must be the largest urban area without an active station. The line down there is long gone

[@michaelpilling9659]

I know the are very well David. Gosport station is preserved monument

[@dianarolph1770]

One of my favourite places - 3 train stations seems a bit greedy for such a tiny place! Nice detective work in the rain. I would not be able to identify railway gates & metal fences and recognise railway buildings in fading light & heavy rain. Hope the Christmas concert was really enjoyable & got you into the festive mood! Thanks Paul!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Diana! Yes, the concert was fantastic! It will be on BBC Radio Somerset on Christmas Day, and then on the BBC Sounds App everywhere online afterwards. Filming in that rain was a bit of a challenge (!); unfortunately it meant I couldn't walk the section of the 'Strawberry Line' that I had wanted too. The upside was that the wet pavements gave nice reflections of the Christmas Lights! Take care, Paul

[@royedwards8713]

Hi Paul nice video and info ℹ 👌

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you so much Roy! Glad you enjoyed it. It really is a super City to visit - one of my favouites in the region that I cover. Hope you are having a good week. Take care, Paul

[@JessesGrandDaysOut]

Lovely video Paul, I'm sure the last time I was in Wells I stumbled across a car park which had a very train station like shelter towards the back. It was quite close to the coach station which made me wonder if there was ever trains into Wells - now I know there was. Thanks for sharing, it's a really lovely city which I really should explore more of (like you say so different to many other cities). Thanks for showing us around and hope you enjoyed the concert! Merry Christmas!

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Jesse! Always great to hear from you. Yes, one of the stations is very close to a largish car park and close to the bus and coach stations, so you would have been on Tucker Street. There is another shelter like building, close to those railway cottages I showed, which I think was railway related too. Glad you enjoyed it, and, yes, the concert was fantastic! The acoustics in the church were amazing, and it made both of us feel very Christmassy. Take care, Paul

[@MartinPopeFilmmaker]

This was a lovely video Paul of one of our favourite places to visit. You captured the old buildings very well. The railway info was interesting. I had no idea that there were 3 stations in Wells nor did i know that the railway went to Glastonbury as well. The night time shots at the end were beautiful. Looking at the front of St Cuthberts church to the left of it & around thr back are some more alms houses or it might be the same ones you showed but from another angle perhaps. 😊😊

[@westcountrywanderings]

Thank you Martin! Glad you enjoyed it - every time I have been to Wells, I discover something new; which is quite amazing for a small city. It packs a lot of interest into a relatively small area. I only discovered about the 3 stations in Wells quite recently - and I had never explored around that part of the City before. Yes, one of the stations served a branch off the Somerset & Dorset line into Glastonbury. Glad you enjoyed the night time shots - apart from the intro and outro (where I needed a wider angle lens to do the vloggy talking to camera stuff) it was all shot on an older (but newer to me) camera, a Canon M5, a little mirrorless beauty, with a tiny 22mm pancake prime lens, which I find both sharp, and lets in a fair bit of light (f2). The night time shots were hand held, not tripod, long exposure ones, which I have done previously. Great to hear from you. Take care, Paul I seem to remember those almshouses at the back of St. Cuthberts - I do think that they are different to the ones I showed when the camera started to steam up with the heavy rain shower!