Half Day Visit

If this is your first visit to Wells we recommend the following highlights tour, during which you will explore all the mediaeval precincts comprising the Bishop’s Palace, The Cathedral and Vicar’s Close, and still have time for a light lunch and coffee/tea break.

If you are unlikely to return to Wells in the foreseeable future you should consider buying the combined Bishop’s Palace and Cathedral day pass.

Enter the Market Place from the High Street and head towards the Penniless Porch (top left off the square). Enter by the Cathedral main visitor door to pay and collect information. Make use of one of the disabled toilets (in Cloisters and by Café entrance) and explore the Cathedral. Take refreshments in the Loft café (accessible by lift).
Exit and turn right to Cathedral Green and head towards Vicar’s Close, stopping to admire the West face and ancient clock face on the way.
Retrace your steps back into the Market Place and turn immediately left to pass through the Bishop’s Eye porch to enter the Bishop’s Palace across the drawbridge. Soak up the vista of the Cathedral, Bishop’s Palace buildings and ruined Great Hall as you relax over refreshments (on a fine day there is little more pleasant than to sit outside for lunch alongside the croquet green).
Make use of the disabled toilet in the courtyard, before setting off to explore the Palace buildings (using the lift to access the first floor). Visit the Chapel and then enter the gardens. We suggest you make your way first to the outer gardens to visit the famous well pools and gardens. There is a second disabled toilet at the back of the arboretum and Dragon’s Lair play area.

The Bishop’s Palace gardens are particularly popular with visitors accompanied by children, with plenty to explore. Check out the Bishop’s Palace website for special mediaeval flavoured events.

We have asked the Cathedral to reduce the price of Cathedral entry for mobility aid users, as a significant number of the treasures can only be explored by able-bodied people.