The Piggeries, Wells...

Aaaaand I'm back in the room.

We had a great time in Somerset, although as ever the weather was a bit unexpected; torrential downpours which left us trapped within Clark's Village one day (there was nothing to do but shop... sigh... haha) and glorious sunshine the next. Wells is a lovely little city with plenty to entertain anyone with an interest in local culture, food, old things and going to the pub. Which possibly covers 99.9% of my readership!

Where we stayed.

With this in mind, I thought I would start these posts with a little bit about where we stayed*. The Piggeries is a converted Medieval farm cottage (presumably that of a pig farmer) with real rustic charm. What makes it unique is that although in decor, peace-and-quiet levels, garden view and chickens scampering about the garden it's as 'Somerset' as winding lanes and cider presses, it is extremely convenient for the city centre. Allow me to demonstrate using a photo:

Yes, that's the cathedral right there.

The Piggeries is not just in the centre of Wells. It us under the Cathedral! You could not ask for a better location for exploring the city on foot, Somerset by car or surrounding countryside by bicycle or ramble (indeed, take a right out of the street and you're at National Trust forest within 10 minutes). Furthermore, the owners live next door in 'The Rib', another beautiful old building - they are extremely helpful and lovely people.

The property itself comprises of one double bedroom, a bathroom (with handheld shower and roll top bath), and a kitchen-diner with full equipment, sofa, TV and radio. There is central heating throughout, as well as all the 'little touches' such as a hairdryer, electric blankets, WiFi and tea/coffee etc'. The only thing the cottage doesn't provide is a telephone, although with mobile phones we didn't find we needed one at all.

This is your door to the outside world. Magical!

Although well equipped, it is genuinely rustic - the furniture is proper old rather than Ikea faux old, the ceilings are low in places, the floors are dark old boards or terracotta tiles and it has that nice 'polished wood' smell (His Lordship calls it 'church smell'). It isn't clinical, modern or minimalist- although pretty, things haven't been chosen to 'match' but more for comfort and charm. I can appreciate that this may not be to everyone's taste, however we found it very relaxing and homely. My only confession is that on the second day, I purchased some ear plugs... not for rowdy neighbours (it's extremely peaceful) but because the 9am Cathedral bell woke me up too early in the day for holiday purposes... especially after sampling the local scrumpy!

If you'd like a look at the cottage (which offers weekends and weeks, and is open all year) click on The Piggeries website here.

I'll be blogging about things to do (on a budget) in the area, and some of my favourite places to visit in further blogs. Some of those places may or may not be pubs. Some of the activities may or not involve fermented apple drinks...

*Disclaimer: this was our holiday, 100% picked, paid and dreamed up by our slightly pickled brains.