Salisbury Cathedral and a stunning tour inside the spire
Salisbury Cathedral
The biggest Cathedral cloister and close in Britain with choir stalls that are the largest and earliest complete set in the country.
Home to the world’s oldest working mechanical clock and a stunning contemporary font which also acts as a captivating water feature in which the soaring gothic arches of the cathedral’s interior are perfectly reflected..
The place where you can see the best preserved of only four surviving copies of the original 1215 Magna Carta and the only one on permanent display.
There are many reasons that make a visit to medieval masterpiece Salisbury Cathedral a memorable one.
But above all - quite literally - is its most prominent feature, the 123 metre high spire, the tallest in Britain, which pierces the city skyline and offers visitors who take a tour inside its remarkable interior, a truly fascinating insight into both the construction of the 6,500 ton edifice and the history of the glorious building it towers over, which had to be shored up to support its colossal extra weight.
I won’t bang on about the history of the cathedral - which was moved to this site from its original one two miles away - other than to say that building work on it started in 1220 and was completed in an astonishingly fast 38 years (let’s remember this was without the aid of any mechanical building methods). which is why it has the most consistent architectural style of any medieval English cathedral.
The nave of Salisbury Cathedral from each end of the building
I’m about as far from an architectural expert as its possible to be, but I can confirm that uniformity of the elegant columns and soaring pointed arches, the tiered gallery which sits atop them, looking for all the world like beautifully piped icing (see? I told you. Not an expert) and the windows above that which give way to the gracefully curved ceiling, are truly breathtaking.
All this, along with the aforementioned features, and a plethora of interesting details and historical curiosities to discover, not least amongst them that copy of the 800 year old Magna Carter which you’ll find in the beautiful Chapter House, and the accompanying displays explaining in fascinating detail how it came to be written, what it contains and how it became the basis for the American constitution (there are a couple of extra insights into its contents, particularly relating to women, in the Heydays newsletter on Substack) would be more than satisfying and enjoyable for any visitor to the cathedral.
The Magna Carta housed in its special display unit in the Chapter House of Salisbury Cathedral
But to make your visit truly memorable, book yourself a slot on one of the several daily tours of the tower and spire. Don’t be put off by the fact that it involves climbing 332 stairs - you do them in short bursts with plenty of time between each section as the wonderfully well informed guide explains the extraordinary construction details you’re seeing, to recover. It’s true that some of the stairs can be a weeny bit challenging - there are a couple of narrow, open tread, tightly spiralled sections - but they’re very safe and more than worth it for the sights and insights they lead to.
One of the spiral flights of stairs you climb as part of your tour of the tower and spire of the cathedral
On the way up, you'll pass along a wooden walkway built above the arches of the nave, and get close up to the bells in the tower which are among the oldest in England - tours are timed to be able to hear them ringing, with ear defenders provided. As you rise through the tower to the base of the spire (which you can look right the way up in to - see the video below) you learn about the materials used, which include reclaimed timber from decommissioned ships, and the head-shaking engineering challenges the builders faced during its construction.
You’ll also discover why the spire is curved rather than straight, was built to be flexible rather than rigid and why it now tilts slightly to one side. You’ll have the chance to go outside and stand in the narrow ledges around the base of the spire (don’t worry, there are waist height balustrades all round) and admire the sweeping views of the city and the countryside beyond (on a clear day you can see across several counties and as far as the Isle of Wight).
On a clear day you can see several counties from the external ledges around the base of the tower
As you head back down, you’ll also be able to see the inside of the cathedral from undoubtedly the best viewpoint - high above the end of the central nave.
Looking down on the nave of Salisbury Cathedral from the best vantage point
Once you’re back on the ground, buzzing from the adventure of it all, take a few moments to find and watch the video of two men you hear the guide talking about in that video of the spire, climbing up the outside to the very top in order to do maintenance work on the weather meter which sits on its pointed peak. It’s bum clenching and makes the stairs seem positively tame in comparison. Here’s a snippet
See what I mean!
After all that excitement, you can repair to the excellent cafe for a calming cuppa (or something stronger) and a chance to reflect on your time in this gem of a building.
You can find details of the opening times of Salisbury Cathedral and how to book a tower tour HERE
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