‘We’ve spent hours sitting here’: Sam Wilmot with his wife, Sophie, on their favourite bench. Photographs: Gareth Iwan Jones/The Guardian View image in fullscreen ‘We’ve spent hours sitting here’: Sam Wilmot with his wife, Sophie, on their favourite bench. Photographs: Gareth Iwan Jones/The Guardian Experience Life and style Experience: I rate benches My Instagram page started as something to amuse my friends, but it took off – and led to me meeting Sophie, who is now my wife
Prefer the Guardian on Google T he idea came to me in summer 2019, when I finished studying at Swansea University. One day I went walking with friends around the beautiful Penllergare Valley woods. As they played Poohsticks, I sat on a bench and took in the view.
I noticed that someone had left flowers on the bench. I wondered who had put them there, who they were for, and why they’d chosen this location. By the time we reached the next bench along the route, I was deep in thought about all the people who had sat there before me.
Both benches had beautiful views, and my friends and I started comparing them. I joked that someone should start rating benches of the world. In the following days, I set up an Instagram account called RateThisBench and then posted a handful of reviews of benches near my family home in Bristol, mostly to amuse my friends.
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At the end of the summer, I planned to close the account. But my dad, Chris, had become quite invested in it. It became our joint project; after dinner we’d go out for a walk and assess a bench.
I wasn’t interested in growing the account, but the page took off. I suddenly had hundreds of followers – I’m currently at about 27,500.
I decided to devise a proper rating system. I usually post a picture of me sitting on the bench, a brief description of the site, and a mark out of 10. Its mark depends on the location, whether there is an arm and backrest, and the quality of its base. I give extra marks to wooden benches, because I think they’re the nicest, and also for interesting plaques or dedications. My lowest-rated are always ugly metal ones in city centres, with armrests mid-bench. Some are unusual – one had an inbuilt USB charging port – but most are unremarkable. My favourites have a wooden back and a lovely view.
I’ve only awarded one a 10/10 – it’s the one I sat on with my new bride View image in fullscreen Before long, people started messaging me, asking me to review their favourite benches. I feel a bit bad if I don’t give them a high mark, but it’s just my opinion. One woman asked me to visit one that’s dedicated to her brother, who was also called Sam, and she thought I looked like him. She was thrilled when I posted a picture of me on his bench, even though I don’t think I awarded it a high mark.
My favourite message, however, was from a girl named Sophie. She contacted me when the page was taking off, and reviewed me as a reviewer. She gave me top marks, and it made me laugh. We started chatting; she lived near me and I asked her to dinner. We were three dates in when I saw a great bench and asked her to photograph me on it. She’s been photographing me on benches ever since.
I’ve now reviewed more than 300 benches. Most of them are in the south-west, but I also do reviews whenever I t…