Mr C, my mum  & I spent the Easter weekend at Stobbery House in Wells. We enjoyed a relaxing atmosphere,  kind hospitality, a delightful garden and spectacular views. We attended the Easter Morning Eucharist service in Wells Cathedral. As the choir was singing the response (in Latin) to the initiation of the Eucharistic prayer I noticed fanned rays of light shining through an upper window illuminating the figure of Christ on the Cross high up in the scissor arches. It was a moving experience.

I am gathering my thoughts and photos together and will share my weekend with you soon.

I was awoken by the sound of crockery crashing to the floor in the corridor outside the room. I dismissed that idea and decided the staff were being noisy tidying up the crockery trolley I had seen on the landing the previous evening. I went back to sleep and the next sound I heard was the 7 O’Clock chime of the Cathedral’s hour bell.

When we arrived for breakfast in the Garden room and found it empty we made our way to reception to ask where breakfast was being served and we were told it was being served on the first floor just around the corner from our room. The breakfast room was rather chaotic because one member of staff had phoned in sick. We sat down at a table and found that the breakfast buffet was far from complete. One of the missing items was orange juice so Mr C asked the waiter for some. The waiter promptly brought a fresh supply only for Mr C to find there were no glasses to put it in! Whilst chatting to one of the breakfast staff I found out the reason for the loud early morning crash of crockery. When they tried to move the trolley loaded with crockery in order to lay the breakfast tables, the leg fell off and the pots fell to the floor…

We managed to get through breakfast in plenty of time to attend the Easter Morning ‘Sung Eucharist’ service in the Cathedral and as we left our chaotic breakfast experience, the sound of the Cathedral bells could be heard, heralding the Easter Morning service. Peace was restored.

The service was lovely and at times quite moving. At the end of the service, as the procession walked up the central isle we noticed that all the young choristers were holding a chocolate Easter bunny and as we turned to leave the Cathedral we were struck by the sight of both front doors of the Cathedral opened wide. As I left I shook hands with the Bishop and walked out into brilliant sunshine which was a welcome contrast to the cloudy weather of the past couple of days.

We made our way to Doddington Hall and Gardens for lunch.  Because it was a bank holiday weekend, the cafe was full so we picked up lunch from the farm shop and ate outdoors in a picnic area. After lunch we did a tour of the grounds and hall and also the nearby St Peter’s Church, all of which was very nice.

On returning to the hotel we found that the faulty light bulbs that we had reported in the morning had still not been fixed! After the case of the missing towels the previous day I was quite adamant that they would be fixed so I reported them again before we left for a brief walk in the Cathedral quarter, enjoying seeing the Cathedral in the sunshine. When we returned to the hotel to freshen up before dinner the bulbs had been replaced

We did not make the best choice of venue for an evening meal but that was rectified by a nightcap in the Wig & Mitre