Wells and Pen Hill

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Walk directions

Leave the car park by the traffic lights and follow a footpath right, keeping ahead into Lovers Walk. At a left bend, go right and left onto New Street. Turn right, pass a mini-roundabout then branch left into Sadler Street. Leave beneath an arch opposite the White Hart into Cathedral Green. Swing right in front of the cathedral to emerge in Market Place. Go left and then left again through another archway to the Bishop's Palace. Bear right and follow two sides of the moat to the B3139.

Cross to a track diagonally opposite, leaving right after 50yds (46m) up a steep wooded path onto Tor Hill. Emerging onto a grassy summit, walk ahead into more trees. Bear left at a prominent fork into a long field. Walk beside the left edge to find a stile towards its far end. Drop steeply through the woods and beside a couple of meadows to a cycle track. Follow it right, eventually emerging onto the B3139.

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Location
Additional information
  Terrain  - Some rough field and woodland paths, often muddy in Biddle Combe, steep descents and street walking through the city of Wells
  Landscape  - Extensive views from the open tops reached along a climb through a deep, wooded gorge
  Dog friendliness  - On leads through city and near grazing livestock
  Parking  - Whiting Way pay and display car park off A39 Portway in city centre
  Toilets en route  - Beside Town Hall off Market Place
About the walk
Wells might be England's smallest city, after London that is, but the cathedral is as great as any in the country. It dominates the city's medieval heart, where ancient gateways, a wealth of carving and mullioned windows appear at almost every corner. Particularly impressive is the stone-paved...
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About the area
Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.
Area image

Wells and Pen Hill

Recommended by
Dog friendly
Location
Nearest postcode:
Additional information
  Terrain - Some rough field and woodland paths, often muddy in Biddle Combe, steep descents and street walking through the city of Wells
  Landscape - Extensive views from the open tops reached along a climb through a deep, wooded gorge
  Dog friendliness - On leads through city and near grazing livestock
  Parking - Whiting Way pay and display car park off A39 Portway in city centre
  Toilets en route - Beside Town Hall off Market Place
About the walk
Wells might be England's smallest city, after London that is, but the cathedral is as great as any in the country. It dominates the city's medieval heart, where ancient gateways, a wealth of carving and mullioned windows appear at almost every corner. Particularly impressive is the stone-paved...
Read more
Been on this walk placeholder

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Walking in Safety placeholder

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Get an AA guide placeholder

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

About the area
Area image
Somerset
Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.