From Cornwall To Somerset

Our last Cornish stop was the picturesque small fishing village of Port Isaac. Malcolm's parents were big fans of the series Doc Martin and that was where the series was filmed. To their great excitement, filming was in progress when we arrived! They were content to watch the crew film for a 15 second footage of someone entering the chemist...It gave us an opportunity for a quick walk up the hill to enjoy the sunshine and the views.

The view along the walk from the carport to the village. We would end up on the grassy section across the water

The Doc is in! Port "Wenn"

From the village looking out to the water

All that space and no one around us!

Enjoying the sunshine!

Looking down back on the village from the top of the hill

We would have stopped at Tintagel Castle...However, the footbridge construction that was supposed to finish this summer was still ongoing. We left Cornwall behind and ventured into Burnham-on-sea in Somerset. After many small and windy country roads, the M5 was a welcome break despite it being a longer than usual drive.

Burnham-on-sea was where Malcolm's mother was born. She dearly wanted to show us her childhood home which was still there! We strolled along the main street and the waterfront before stopping for ice-cream at Forte's where she used to have ice-cream as a treat when she was a little girl

14 Eton Road! Nana's home as a child

The waterfront

Ice-cream time!

Wells was known as the smallest city in England. The Cathedral was also where Nana used to sing as a child. We found an excellent blog post on Kidsandcompass and just followed it! The gothic Wells Cathedral was beautiful, both on the outside and on the inside, and there was hardly anyone there which made it even more enjoyable. Construction on the Cathedral began in 1175! Unfortunately, there was a service on and so we couldn't enter the East end. The Vicar, after discovering that Nana sang here as a child, kindly took her quietly to where she would have stood and let her take a photo!

Right next to the Cathedral was Vicar's Close, claimed to be the most complete medieval street in England. It was only short and didn't take long to visit. It did, however, take a while for the students to clear so I could take a photo. Unfor, tunately, I couldn't do anything about the not very medieval parked car that was on the street!

Rounding out the attractions was Bishops Palace, the home of the Bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The grounds, including the moats outside, were peaceful and serene, and came complete with its own swans.

Entrance to the Bishops Palace

Ruins of the Great Hall

The beautiful and extensive grounds

Looks so English...castle wall, moat, ducks and swan!

Wells Cathedral

Incredible detail

Inside using the West entrance

Vicar's Close

It was not easy to get a shot without the parked cars!

It wasn't too far to Bath from Wells and we arrived by 6:30pm. Our home for the next 3 nights was the Hilton, likely the ugliest building in the city. However, it was super convenient and we were glad that it was such a close walk to everything. Dinner tonight was at Yak Yeti Yak, one of the placest that made the top value eats in Bath. The pork (can't remember the name but it was the one with coriander and spinach) and the Chicken Chilli were a hit! Unlike the song, we wouldn't mind going back. We were glad the food was quick as everyone was tired after a long day of driving.

Bath!

Dinner time!