Egg-citing news at The Bishop's Palace in Wells, where the famous Swans of Wells have laid eggs in their nest.

This year, there are seven eggs for swan-watchers to keep a close eye on.

The pair, named Grace and Gabriel, became more popular than ever last year, when thousands of locked-down viewers tuned in daily to the Palace's 24 hour Swan Cam to catch a glimpse of the swans and their cygnets.

Now that she has laid them all, Grace will incubate the eggs for around 45 days, which means they will likely hatch in early May.

The extremely popular Swan Cam has now gone live on the Palace website. With infra-red capability, the Swan Cam runs 24 hours a day and is trained on the nest.

The tradition of Swans on the Moat at The Bishop's Palace in Wells is thought to go back to the 1850s when it is likely that a Bishop's daughter first taught the swans to ring a bell at the Gatehouse for food.

There are now two swan bells – one just beneath the window on the left of the Gatehouse, the other to the right – both with a rope hanging down for the swans to pull.

The current pair of Mute Swans, Grace and Gabriel, arrived in May 2019, thanks to Swan Rescue South Wales.

Since their arrival, they have become well-loved inhabitants of the Moat. They improve their nest building each year, and we have been lucky to have cygnets on the moat yearly. They have been known to walk through the market square, became quite partial to the fudge shop one year, and enjoy being fed swan food.

Gabriel teaches each year's cygnets how to ring the Gatehouse bell for food before the cygnets leave the moat in the winter/springtime to start life on their own.

Nest building for the next generation of cygnets starts in February/March, and eggs are laid later in March. After incubation of around 40 days, where Grace will remain on the nest, Cygnets tend to hatch around the first week of May.

To watch Swan Cam, viewers should head to the home page of The Bishop's Palace website