Bench your plans, take a seat and listen to a tale that’s sweet as can be from top-to-bottom.
Sam Wilmot, a 29-year-old based in Bristol, England, has rated more than 300 benches through his Instagram page @ratethisbench,he tells TODAY.com. With a strict criteria in place, Wilmot has never given out a perfect 10 — that is, until he recently revisited one particular bench with his beau, Sophie, on their wedding day.
The post about the bench — one that sits outside of the striking 13th century church St. John the Baptist in the village of Old Sodbury — has since gone viralas shocked fans have long been waiting for that elusive 10/10. Wilmot, who’s not in it for fame, says that for him, the bench will forever be associated with the “best day of my life,” Wilmot tells TODAY.com.
“I’d always held back a mark for the “wow” factor, and previously scored this bench a 9/10. But the overwhelming feeling of joy and awe in this moment is the wow,” Wilmot wrote in the caption of the photo, posted in June. “No moment or bench will ever come close to this for me, I can proudly say I have found my 10. In Sophie, and this bench. Sophie Alicia Wilmot, I love you.”
Wilmot has rated everything from a department store bench that featured Paddington Bear, which scored a 6/10, to a carved, wooden bench outside of England’s National Coal Mining Museum, which was given a 5/10. And each post comes with a description and some interesting facts and reflections in addition to the score rationale.
To make things fair, Wilmot scores everything on a rubric, he says. There’s up to three marks for location and view, one mark for having a concrete or solid base for accessibility in all seasons, another mark for being made out of wood and a mark for having a plaque or dedication, he says.
Wilmot also considers functionality. There’s a mark for having an armrest or back support along with another one for curvature of the seat, an important aspect of comfortability, he says.
“Then, really, the tenth mark is a ‘wow factor,’” Wilmot says. “Something that makes it stand out significantly, or is inspiring.”
And Wilmot is firm on the criteria. For example, the Giant’s Chair, a striking art installation in Aberystwyth, Wales, was given a rating of 4/10. The view, according to his rationale, was lovely. But the bench didn’t perform so well in some other important ways.
“The bench itself would fit 3 people, but somewhat uncomfortably. Due to it’s size and dimensions, the back rest is near redundant based on ones inability to sit upright using it due to the depth of the seat,” Wilmot wrote. “It’s not an easy climb up either. But it is different, and offers an unspoiled view of the valley which falls away at your feet.”
The 10/10 bench, however, hit all the marks. Not only that, Wilmot says, it’s representative of the couple’s journey together, which is important given the fact that so much of the account has been made possible because of his wife’s support. In fact, since November 2019, she has been the page’s photographer.
“Ratethisbench existed prior to meeting Soph, but it would not exist without her or have become what it is today without her willingness to accept random adventures for new benches and capture the moment for me. Our first exchange 7-years ago was bench related and there was no telling at the time where it would lead,” Wilmot wrote in the June post. “People have tried to make out bench reviews and rankings to be boring and mundane, but there’s nothing boring about spending time outdoors and bonding with the person you grow to love whilst bench spotting.”
He added in the post that “there is no possible moment in life I will cherish more than sitting on my favourite bench, alongside my wife moments after marrying surrounded by our friends and family.”
The two have been to countless benches together, but the one outside of St. John the Baptist has long had meaning to the couple, he says. The pair have not only had fun chats there, but they’ve also discussed some deeper topics including big life changes and career plans, Wilmot explains. Of course, he says, the wedding topped all their other experiences at that bench.
He says that his wife actually entered his life around 5 months into his bench-rating journey. And she was immediately supportive of the idea. Perhaps it was a sign.
“She’s always been a big advocate of enjoying the journey to the benches, so she’s always been keen on the walk, the chat associated with them, and just sort of the reason and excuse to get out of the house,” Wilmot says. “So she’s really bought into that whole idea of the benches.”
With the increased interest in both the account and his story, Wilmot says he hopes that people who come across his page, walk away with an understanding that “benches themselves are a lived experience.”
“A bench isn’t necessarily a monumental thing that other people review. It’s not going to cost you the earth either,” he says. “It’s really just about the little things, enjoying the chit chat that comes with it, the sort of people you meet along the way.”
