Historic Reflection

Today it was time to head home after a super family week in Dorset.  As it 'turned out nice again' I decided to stop off in Salisbury and take a look at the Cathedral with its copy of Magna Carta (one of the four surviving documents from 1215).  I booked a tour of the Tower which took us up to the base of the spire - so quite high - and gave some spectacular views of parts of the roof and structure not normally visible.

Salisbury is a very old cathedral dating from 1220 although this is a replacement for the first cathedral at Old Sarum adjacent to the Norman Castle; there was a big fall-out between the state (King) and the church and so the cathedral had to be relocated!  Within this ancient structure there are some modern items, one of which is the font.  This particular one is very recent - installed in 2008 - and features continually running water.  It also doubles up as a mirror to reflect the ceiling of the nave.
I had to hang around for ages to avoid the reflections of people in the water - others were also interested in the font.

I then popped along to look at the site of the old castle which was very popular with William the Conqueror and the remains of the old cathedral.  This really is a triumph of imagination over reality with only a few parts of a few walls still standing.

A wonderful end to a thoroughly enjoyable week.