A Day Out in Frome

A visit to Frome had been planned for ages with friend Deb, somehow we didn't manage to get it together to go for months, maybe even a year. We finally arranged our visit on a Monday which turned out not to be a particularly good day to visit, because a few shops were closed, and we were between exhibitions at Black Swan Arts which we were very keen to see. We had a brilliant time despite these problems, and can see why Frome is so popular. On arrival, we headed to Black Swan Arts and parked in the car park beside it. The first sight of the building is impressive, with the Black Swan Round Tower at one end of the building. The tower seen below, was built in the mid 18th century as a wool drying stove and was included in a sale in 1796 where it was described as a 'Scouring furnace'

 Where the chimney was located is now an attractive window

 Having discovered we'd arrived between exhibitions, we went to look in the round tower where local artist Simon J Griffiths had hired the space for an exhibition entitled 'Adventures in Reality' Here's Deb in the space

 and Simon Griffiths talking about his exhibition

 We missed out on the glorious Black Swan arts food

because we thought we'd have a look around the town which is charming, from the rill down the centre of the pedestrianised street with  many private traders.

 here's the rill in context

 There's a lovely fountain and drinking trough designed in 1871, perfect for sitting on with very clean looking water in it

 We found a great spot for lunch which we ate overlooking the river which is also called Frome, from ffraw meaning fair, fine or brisk referring to the fast flowing river

 Rather a nice touch, a face in the railings

 it seems there are 2 main shopping streets, the one with the rill, and this cobbled street, also with lots more fascinating shops along both sides.

 There's a market in Frome called The Frome Independent, on the first Sunday of every month which is apparently well worth visiting. It's certainly worth another trip to have a look at the market and the rest of the shops I didn't manage to explore.
I am very pleased with the hanging vase I bought from Phaedra Politis