Staff, volunteers and guests of The Bishop's Palace have celebrated the opening of a new accessible entry for Groups at the popular heritage site and tourist attraction in Wells.

The Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, Bishop of Taunton, led the celebrations by cutting the ribbon and members of Wells-based charity, Heads Up, who are frequent users of the Palace's Community Garden facilities, were the first to walk through the new gate to the Palace's gardens.

The entrance is situated to the south of the Cathedral car park; just off St Andrew's Street. There is space available for mini-buses to park and level access into the gardens.

The project began in 2021 when more time and staff were dedicated to the Community Engagement programme, and in particular, to allowing more groups to access and enjoy the Community Garden. A range of users from school groups to mental health charities currently benefit from the sessions, however the Community Garden is located at the furthest point from the Drawbridge, so, to allow those for whom access is more challenging to take part in the offering, a new entrance was proposed.

Merryn Kidd, Interim CEO at The Bishop's Palace, says "Grants received, including from The Medlock Charitable Trust and Sir John and Lady Heathcoat Amory's Charitable Trust, made it possible for the Palace to improve accessible entry for all of our visitors to the Palace; which is a really important part of our strategy to welcome all. And what an entrance it is, with immediate entry into our glorious 14 acres of RHS partner gardens".

Access through the new entrance will be managed by the Community Engagement Manager and the Community Gardener. Any interested groups should contact [email protected] in the first instance.

The work has also allowed for four car park spaces to be made available to the general public on an annual hire basis. Any enquiries should be made to the Palace via [email protected]