BBC Bus

The BBC Somerset Bus and its crew were in Wells on Bank Holiday Monday to join in the fun at the annual Moat Boat Race.

Thousands came to watch as teams made rafts out of tyres and barrels and raced them on the moat outside the Bishops Palace.

The event raised money for the Wells Lions Club and the Bishop’s chosen charity, The West Mendip Opportunity Group.

Our reporters met the Wells Lions club who organise the event and the host, Bishop Peter Price.

We went for a tour inside the Bishop's Palace and found out about the plans to make it more open to the local community.

And we heard about the wildlife in the Bishops Garden, including a family of otters who spent part of the summer living in the moat.

Bishop afloat

The Moat Boat race takes place each year at the Bishops Palace. The Bishop, Peter Price, also makes a point of taking part. This year he took to the waters with a crew from the palace staff in a raft called ‘Cobbled Together’.

Bishop Peter Price

"It’s a great day," he told us. "When the sun shines and the crowds come to watch it’s a really good atmosphere."

The main aim of the day is to raise money for charity. Bishop Peter told us what his chosen charity is this year.

"I’m supporting the West Mendip Opportunity Group that cares for pre-school children with special needs. It’s a really good local charity and it’s the kind of work that needs to be given more of a profile."

Race Organisers

The Moat Boat race is organised by the Wells Lions Club with help from the Air Training Corp. Danny Unwin from the Lions explained why they’re working together

"There are only 15 members in the Wells Lions," he said. "That’s why we’ve joined with other groups like the ATC."

Opening the Palace

While in Wells we went on a tour of the Bishop's Palace with the head warden Sarah Duthie. She told us about plans to make the Palace and its grounds more open to the public.

Palace Warden Sarah Duthie

They include allowing people to grow vegetables in the garden, turning Palace Green into a picnic area and building a classroom for school groups. It all depends on a bid for lottery funding that'll be made in October.

"We really want to bring the Palace into the heart of the community," she said. "We want to make sure people have an opportunity to get involved with the palace be that as a volunteer, visiting an event, coming to have a coffee or just to see the gardens."

Moat Otters

We also found out about the wildlife living in the Palace gardens with Les Cloutman from the local branch of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He told us about the family of otters who spent much of the summer living in the moat.

Les Cloutman, Somerset Wildlife Trust

"At least one mother with two or three young have been seen by quite a few people," he said. "Otters are such rare creatures, its so lovely to have them back in Somerset even in small numbers."

The Wildlife Trust are holding an open day at the Palace on September 15th where people can come and find out more about the organisation.