Guide: Frome
Frome is an old town just outside of Bath in Somerset. It is not somewhere that I would suggest staying as it doesn’t hold much to do - but as a place to visit en-route it’s definitely one I would suggest adding to the list if you are down in the South West of the UK.
I visited Frome on my way back from a weekend in Bath and stayed on the outskirts so went into the town the day after. While I wouldn’t suggest going to Somerset to see Frome especially, it has two streets that are truly charming. The general feel of the old streets is moving more and more to the independent, artisan markets which adds a lovely feel to the town.
Getting To Frome
Getting to the town is theoretically very simple, even though we found ourselves on the road to Glastonbury and had to turn back to find the right slip road. If you’re driving coming via Bath follow signs for Frome station and you’ll find your way from there. Unfortunately in the South we’re not too good at sign posts. There are several car parks but we used Cattle Market Car Park that also has a local market on Saturdays.
If you’re travelling via train there is a station on the outskirts of the town a short walk to the centre.
Doing In Frome
Frome is an ancient town with Celtic origins and a part to play throughout British history from Alfred the Great. By the Medieval era it had become a key town of not only settlements but also manufacturing - the river that runs through the heart of Frome had four watermills on it to grind grain to flour. There was a monastery which disappeared by the end of the 11th century. Manufacturing wool became the main industry of the town from the 16th century with a slight intermission for bell casting. From the 19th century the wool industry was falling out of favour and eventually overtaken by iron foundries and a printing industry.
There are the two main streets of Frome that are well-known and find their way into many an Instagram post - however apart from that the old quarter of the town is surrounded by busy main roads. I would suggest following your nose and enjoying a few hours of comfortable exploration. I’ll include some of my favourite streets and shops.
Streets of Frome
I’m going to list a few of the most aesthetic streets I came across while walking around the town. There are some that have been beautifully preserved - making it feel cosy and quaint. I would of course always say follow your own intuition, there was a path by the river that I would have loved to walk around if we’d had time but our parking ran out.
Gentle Street
Church Steps
Sheppards Barton
Catherine Hill
Paul Street
Cheap Street
King Street
Stony Street
Catherine Hill
Catherine Hill is where you will find the main loop of shops as well as the iconic sloping cobbled hill. It is now lined with independents that I would suggest you pop into - even if you don’t intend to you’ll find yourself wending your way inside. My favourites were:
Bramble & Wild
The Haunts Curiosity Shoppe
Beadz Bazaar
Pilea
At the top of the hill, if you keep walking to the beginning of Catherine Street, you will also find on your left a rather pretty and brightly decorated lamp post. This is the Valentines lamp post, and the only working gas lamp in all of Somerset. It is lit at a special ceremony every Valentines day and dedicated to St Valentine and all couples in love regardless of race, religion, gender etc. I’m secretly a hopeless romantic so I found it utterly charming.
Paul Street
Coming back down Catherine Hill at the Blue Building on the corner you’ll have the option to continue on the upper section of the town. This section is well worth doing because then there are a set of darling little steps set into the wall that you can go down to reach Palmer Street and back down to Stony Street where you can reach the main road.
Cheap Street
Going along Market Place you’ll find a small street going off on the left, (coming from Cattle Market car park) it’s still got the original open-air drain running down it’s centre and is filled on either side with little independents. It gives a great insight into how the town used to look and feel.
Shopping In Frome
I had been told that Frome was the most delightful place for independent shopping. And in that respect I was not disappointed in any way, shape or form. I even found handmade paper for my notebooks which I’d been looking for. Whether you’re looking for books, jewellery, beauty products or paper or something else entirely - chances are something here will catch your eye. There are of course the shops that I outlined on Catherine Hill but here are some extras for you.
Good antiquarian second-hand bookshops are hard to come by but The Frome Bookshop was incredible. Well-stocked with beautifully bound volumes, I even found a huge selection of Virginia Woolf’s essays in the original paper binding that the Hogarth Press would have printed them in using the art of her sister Vanessa Bell. It was heavenly and well worth a visit on King Street just at the end of Cheap Street.
Post Script on Stony Street was a shop that naturally piqued my interests and it was there that I found the handmade paper with flower petals sprinkled across.