Wells

Ancient limestone riddles this landscape with secret chambers and forgotten burial mounds. Wells sits on England's smallest cathedral city throne, where Saxon kings once held court and where the Mendip Hills roll away in waves of green pasture dotted with mysterious Bronze Age barrows.

The cathedral dominates everything here. Proper medieval grandeur with its scissor arches and astronomical clock that still chimes the hours as it has for six centuries. But step beyond the cathedral close and you'll find a working market town that hasn't quite succumbed to tourist tat. The high street runs quiet on weekday mornings, which makes it rather lovely for a proper browse.

Above ground, the Mendips offer some cracking walking. Priddy Nine Barrows marks one of Somerset's most significant prehistoric sites - nine Bronze Age burial mounds lined up like ancient sentinels across the plateau. The Romans left their mark too with a fort whose earthworks still rise from the fields near Charterhouse.

But it's what lies beneath that makes this area truly special. The Mendip cave systems here are legendary among cavers. Swildon's Hole Cavern and Eastwater Cavern snake deep underground, part of a vast network that includes the dramatic Blackmoor Swallet and St. Cuthbert's Swallet. Even the names tell stories - Sludge Pit Hole won't win beauty contests, but it's part of one of Britain's most extensive cave systems.

Blagdon Lake sits in a fold of hills to the north, a Victorian reservoir that now draws serious anglers and weekend walkers. The surrounding countryside stays proper rural - dry stone walls, sheep fields, and that particular Mendip light that photographers love.

Wells sits just off the M5, easily reached from Bristol or Bath. Staying at one of the nearby parks means you can explore the caves by day and return to the cathedral for evensong - a combination that's been drawing visitors here for over a thousand years.