The White Hart Hotel

The greatest gallery of medieval sculpture in Europe, a unique 600-year-old working clock and scores of 12th century carvings are among the attractions of the vast Cathedral Church of St Andrew in Wells. The famed West Front, started in 1230 - some 50 years after the main building - is honeycombed with 400 niches, most containing original medieval statues. Those that are missing you can blame on the Civil War and senseless destruction. There is much more to see for the informed. In fact, the whole front is the history of the world and the figure of Jesus can be seen at the very top. You might also notice many naked figures arising bearing coffin lids - these represent the general resurrection. Keen observers will see 8 holes, through which trumpeters once played. There are also portals inside where choir boys sing and their voices resound across the fields. The astronomical clock, made around 1392, is in the north transept. Its face is 6ft 4in across and it's the oldest clock in all England with face on it, the second oldest of all. On the outside are the hours, the middle minutes while the lunar and sun, in the belief of the times, rotate around the central earth. If you look closely you will note the blurred spinning knights at the top, a trick they do on the hour.