Mike and me
The Bishop’s Palace
Wells, Somerset, England
September 8, 2008
Hello from lovely Somerset! As many of you already know, my husband Mike is British, and he grew up in a Somerset village near the town of Wells. Today we took a nice walk through Wells, and I decided to bring my camera to photograph random things that I saw along the way.
Wells is a gorgeous medieval town that has been around since at least 700AD. The focal point of the city is the Wells Cathedral and its accompanying Bishop’s Palace. The Cathedral School has been in existence since 909 and is still filled with students today. I can’t even imagine going to a school that has been around for a millennium. Mike went to the Wells Blue School, which is much younger — it wasn’t founded until 1652. His hometown really puts American history in perspective! My high school in Virginia was one of the oldest in the county; it was about 40 years old at the time.
Wells retains its medieval charm, but now most of its old buildings are occupied by modern cafes and stylish shops. It’s a lovely place to wander around on a late summer day.
Vicar’s Close. These houses were built in the 1200s and probably looked pretty much the same then.
Someone’s front door along Vicar’s Close.
An old door in the cloisters area of the cathedral
Mikey in the cloisters. There was nice light in there, so I had to take a portrait.
In the cathedral graveyard
In the market square
A croquet game on the lawn inside the Bishop’s Palace
Mike took this picture of me with a fisheye lens about 2 inches from my face. There’s a reason I don’t shoot brides like this.
Can you imagine growing up in a town with a castle and moat!
I’m glad that lots of locals sit and enjoy the view, rather than taking it for granted.
I miss my orange tabby cat. I hope the house sitter is giving her some love.
The side of the cathedral
The doors are so small on these old buildings!
I would have been Gigantor Woman in the 1200s.
Did you see the movie “Hot Fuzz”? They filmed a big shoot-out scene in this market square.
We went into the Crown pub, and found this police vest that had been signed by the stars and director of “Hot Fuzz”. (Mike actually is friends with Edgar Wright, the director of “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead”. They went to school together here in Wells.) Also, please mind the step.
We left the Crown after a pint, and found this sign at the King’s Head. It convinced us to go in there for a pint, too.
At the end of our walk, we found the Wells Police arresting this guy while holding him face-down in the middle of the street. Perhaps “Hot Fuzz” was wrong about the police here after all!
By the way, if you haven’t seen that movie yet, you should.
Lovely pictures and good use of camera features, especially the lens. It’s great to travel around with a camera at hand.
That’s the 16-35mm lens, taken at 16mm. That perspective makes his arms look huge, and his head tiny!
Well the number of lenses I carry depend on the situation. For these photos of Wells, I carried a 15mm fisheye, 16-35mm f2.8, and 135mm f2. At weddings, I carry two bodies and five lenses.
The bag you see me carrying in the photos is a Shootsac (www.shootsac.com). It is a great bag for walking around town, but it’s not good for packing equipment for travel. When I travel, I bring a padded bag for the flight, and the Shootsac for sightseeing.
LOL… well I do try to floss. 🙂
I love Oxford, too!
I use Canon 5D cameras, with a 30D as a backup. These photos were taken with a 5D.
Too bad! Well hopefully you can go again another time!
If you liked Shaun of the Dead, you’ve got to see Hot Fuzz!
Mike and I think we should put a moat around our house, and see if the neighbors object.
I would love to do travel photography, but I haven’t really given it any thought. Maybe I should!
LOL! Go travel to a town like that anyway!
Don’t wait, just go, pay later! 🙂
How cool that you’ve been to Wells!
Yeah, it was crazy to watch Hot Fuzz and see so many familiar places. The hotel where Sgt Angel lives is the hotel where we got married!
Meow with an accent, ha!
yay! croquet! they summer’s just about over and I never played this year 🙁
What’s the lens you used to photograph mike just after the one of you with the gigantor woman comment? it gives him amusing proportions.
beautiful!
I hope you don’t mind the question, but how many different lenses do you carry on you? From these it looks like 3? What bag do you carry your camera and lenses in? I do a lot of travel and can’t decide what to get. Thanks!
Oh er! I reconise the street from hotfuzz! How long are you over here for? xxx
Oh so gorgeous. I spent about a month and a half in Oxford, and seeing these photos brought back many wonderful memories. I really want to go back. Thank you SO much for sharing.
Random- you have beautiful teeth.
I’m in the wrong country, yanno? I so love medieval architecture. But I’m not seeing so much of it on the market here in DC.
and if you would have been gigantor woman, what would I have been? 😉
Oh so gorgeous. I spent about a month and a half in Oxford, and seeing these photos brought back many wonderful memories. I really want to go back. Thank you SO much for sharing.
Random- you have beautiful teeth.
beautiful. you take some of the most gorgeous pictures. 🙂 I miss England! 😡
what camera do you use? I think I’ve asked before but doesn’t hurt to ask again! : )
It looks wonderful. I hope to get the chance to visit England some day.
Those are beautiful photos! I’ve always wanted to go to England, and Wells seems like the perfect place to visit. I was almost able to go with my high school to England next summer, but now I can’t. I’m pretty sure we were going to stop in Wells, too. How sad.
I need to see “Hot Fuzz”! It looked so funny! Jon and I really liked “Shaun of the Dead”. We actually saw it on tv whilst in London, haha.
Looks like a gorgeous town!
I love the picture of you and Mike above the cut. I also love Hot Fuzz and had to laugh when you mentioned it! 🙂
Mike is British? 😉
It’s so sad you never take pictures. Or post them.
I’m in a sarcastic mood.
what a gorgeous hometown! you always make places look their best 🙂
I suddenly want live in a castle with a moat.
I love the picture of you and Mike above the cut. I also love Hot Fuzz and had to laugh when you mentioned it! 🙂
Oh, we love hot fuzz.
I know the wedding shoots bring in money, but have you ever thought about publishing your own travel guide/photography? You’d need a gimmick, but your photos always tell such stories.
I wish my fiance was from an awesome town like that, so I had an excuse to travel there.
Sadly, he’s from Philadelphia. And he hated it there.
Beautiful photos! The fish-eye shot of you cracked me up.
oh i think i could live in a place like that forever.
i can’t wait to travel!
Ahhh! I’ve been there! I remember the walk around the Vicar’s close and the Cathedral. These pictures are so beautiful.
Hot Fuzz is GREAT! So crazy to walk around where a movie was shot 🙂
Also, as stupid as it sounds, I can’t help but wonder if English cats meow with an accent 😉
Great shots. What a fantastic vacation you’re having! I’m so jealous of how long you’re getting to stay!!!
Ahhh! I’ve been there! I remember the walk around the Vicar’s close and the Cathedral. These pictures are so beautiful.