A half day trip to Nunney and Frome
Somerset - England
The village of Nunney & the town of Frome
Nunney Castle
After our canal boat cruise on the Kennet and Avon Canal, we had a few hours to spare before we had to catch a train and then our flight from Heathrow airport.
Moat and bridge, Nunney Castle
Because Nunney and Frome are only about half an hour’s drive from Bradford-on-Avon where we disembarked from our boat, and only 6.5 kilometres apart we decided a half day trip to Nunney and Frome to explore them both was in order.
I hope you will find inspiration through this photo blog to visit these two places.
Nunney
Nunney is a small village and although picturesque, it won’t take you long to explore. Why would you want to anyway? Because it has a medieval castle of course!
View of All Saints Church Nunney
Nunney Castle
The ruins of Nunney Castle dates to 1370. It was built by Sir John de la Mare, a knight at the court of King Edward III of England. He was given permission to turn his manor house at Nunney into Nunney Castle in 1373.
The castle was modernised in the late 16th century, then besieged and damaged during the English Civil War by the Parliamentarians in 1645.
The ruins are well preserved for such an ancient castle and a small moat surrounds it with a bridge leading to the entrance.
Entrance to view the castle is free and you can spend time there at leisure, but I would allow about half an hour at the most.
Before you enter the castle look at the sign with a drawing of the castle depicting as it should have looked like in medieval times. I love the drawing which gives you a good idea of what it was like centuries ago. You can certainly let your imagination run wild thinking of what life was like then.
Near the castle is a small café in a quaint building called the Castle Kitchen where we had coffee and snacks. It is a great place for a light meal. Make sure there isn’t a huge group of cyclists like we had, because that could affect the speed of service, understandably for such a small establishment. The cyclists stopped there for breakfast before continuing with their ride.
All Saints Church
If you enjoy exploring churches, it is worth stopping at Church of All Saints which is just across the road, near the castle that also dates back to 1174.
Beautiful hanging baskets in Frome
Frome
Frome is a quaint market town that has a thriving arts community and is located at the eastern side of the Mendip Hills. This makes some of the streets extremely steep. It is situated on the River Frome and is only a short distance from Bath and Glastonbury.
Exploring Frome will take you longer than Nunney but we were limited with time so we chose to stay in the centre of the town.
We roamed around Cheap Street which has a narrow canal flowing down the middle and slogged up Catherine Hill, a steep cobbled street. We loved peering into the vintage and artisan shops and I could have spent a good few hours there. Instead we had a quick bite to eat before going to the station.
Cheap Street, Frome
Catherine Hill, Frome
Church of St Johns
The Via Crucis
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore any other points of historical interest such as Cley Hill, an Iron Age fort just outside Frome, because we had a train to catch. I think Nunney and Frome have so much more to offer than what we saw in half a day.
Frome is well known for markets so if you choose your time right, you may coincide with one of those. Discover Frome will be able to supply more information about that.
If I’d had more time before the end of our trip, I would while away a few hours at the following places:
Where is Nunney?
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About the Author
ALMA VAN AS | ROAMING FOX
Alma is a South African travel blogger and writer. She hopes to inspire you with facts and fables about her adventures, road trips and international travel.
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