Frome

We stopped at Frome recently, somewhere we hadn't visited for many years and had forgotten how charming the old rural town is.

Steep cobbled streets and buildings of Bath stone, maybe not Sharfesbury but you can imagine the baker's boy wheeling his bicycle up here (if you're old enough to remember the advert)

There's clearly some local civic pride to have gone to the time and trouble with the decorations of lamp posts like this fine example

And more than a sense of humour with some of the local shops, not the sort of name you're likely to see in a chain store in a big shopping mall and all the better for that.

Frome as a town grew and prospered with the wool trade and is still very aware of it's history.

 "Sheppards Barton" alleyway and steps on the Frome heritage trail, before the days of traffic. Would be interesting to know who or what Sheppards Barton was or why it was so named, I should have taken a better photo of the information wall plate.

 And don't think Frome is all 118th an d19th century history, there is clearly a modern social scene in the town. Would be interesting to understand what exactly a Buff disco is? And maybe with disco and Kiki Dee modern-ish would be a better description.

Really great secondhand bookshop, worth climbing the hill for.

The 19th century wealth of the town is perhaps displayed best in St John the Baptist church near the centre, the carved reliefs on the walled steps leading to the church are magnificent.

As is the interior, see here the side chapel and stained glass.

York's Motor Works and prior to that the Yeovil Tractor Company occupied grand premises on the main street.

 Slightly off the tourist beaten track, and as consequence maybe passed over with some of the less beneficial trends, with quite a few interesting places to eat, it's worth a visit together with the nearby Cley Hill