City
6 Best Activities In Wells
Old stone is the draw. Wells Cathedral is the reason most people come, and it is a rare building that impresses children who normally have no interest in architecture — sheer scale does the work. The Bishop's Palace sits alongside it with a moat and grounds, which is where a family that has had enough of interiors ends up.
The counterweight is Wookey Hole Caves: underground, theatrical and aimed squarely at children rather than at their parents. Six entries in all, five with indoor space, so this is a town that copes with a bad day.
Showing 1–6 of 6
CastlesWells Cathedral
Indoor PlayThe Square
CastlesThe Bishop's Palace
AdventureWookey Hole Caves
CinemasODEON Tunbridge Wells
AdventureThe Wells Mystery Treasure Trail
12 more within 10 miles of Wells
Funways
Flying Saucers Pottery Painting Cafe
The Warminster Saddle Club
Longleat Safari and Adventure Park
JetEx Flight Simulation
Hope Nature Centre
Trowbridge Sports Centre
ODEON Trowbridge
Trowbridge Museum
Nunney Castle
Visit Hillbrush
Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Cathedral in the morning, caves in the afternoon, and nobody has to pretend to enjoy anything for too long. If you only have half a day, the palace grounds are the gentler option of the historic pair.
Visiting Wells with kids: FAQs
Will a cathedral hold a child's attention at all?
More often than parents expect, because Wells Cathedral works on scale rather than detail — the height of it is the point, and children respond to that before they respond to anything on a label. Half an hour inside is usually plenty. Services and access arrangements vary through the week, so check ahead.
Which one place would you choose for a seven-year-old?
Wookey Hole Caves, comfortably. Caves are dark, strange and slightly frightening in the way that children enjoy, and the site is built around family visits rather than around quiet appreciation. It is the one attraction here that no child has to be talked into.
Is there somewhere to let a toddler run about?
The Bishop's Palace has grounds and water, which is the best combination on this list for a small child who needs space and something to look at. It also breaks up a morning of buildings. What is open in the grounds shifts with the seasons, so look at the palace's own information first.