This is where and how, this beautiful tiny city got its name!

The Bishops Palace & Gardens are surrounded by high walls and a moat with plenty of swans. Entry through a high archway and a walk past a busy cafe (good plates of food here - no kids menu but my 2 had the fish and chips to share which was perfect) to the gate will gain you entrance. It's £8 to get in, which has gone up since I was last there, but the kids went free (ages 8 and 10). I actually wanted to go to the rare plant fair that was being held on the wide front lawn, but afterwards we went into the gardens. There is an open space with trees, and paths running up along the walls that you can look over to moat and beyond, but if you immediately go left round the side on the Palace, you walk through a planted parterre of euonymous (the box hedges have all been replaced now because of the box moth caterpillar problem) and beautiful trees. The planting was beautiful, lots of flowers still out at this late stage as you can see from the photos. There are lots of statues throughout, one being a large set of crafted metal and white glass wings, which the kids had their photo taken with! Then into the next section, over the water and the swans nesting place. These are where the wells, or underground aquifers, are located, which are deep springs in the ground (Wells is very close to Wookey Hole which is the source of The Axe river in Somerset). Dependent on time of year/whether it has rained a lot in the week previously, sometimes the water actually bulges on the surface of the pools. However, you can easily see how much water is created as it runs through a small lock, down a channel into a waterfall to the moat. The gardens have been planted all around the pools, and with the cathedral rising majestically in the background, it really is a beautiful sight, and well worth a visit.