Salisbury Cathedral

Friday
Today we were ultimately heading up north to Roger’s family near Warrington, via my sister’s in the Gloucester area, to pick up a suitcase we left with her before leaving for the Scilly Isles! Janet had expected to be out most of the day, but had offered us an evening meal, before we completed the last leg of our journey in the evening, when we hoped the roads would be a bit quieter. This left us a good part of the day at our disposal, so we planned our route via Salisbury, so we could see the cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral is known for its tall slim spire, which since 1549, has been the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom, at 404 feet. Besides looking around the cathedral, and it’s large cloister, we also took the "Tower Tour", which takes you up first to a narrow gallery at the back of the church, where you can look down on the church from above, then you continue up through different levels, up to the base of the spire, where it’s hollow interior, with its ancient wooden scaffolding, can be viewed, and you can step out on to a narrow exterior gallery and admire the view. You can only go out on one side of the tower, as on the other side there is a pair of peregrine falcons, with their chicks, which you could see on a tv screen. The guide was excellent, and the tour gave a fascinating insight into the structure and background of the cathedral. You do need to be fairly fit - about 320 or so steps, fortunately in different sections, so you got a chance to catch your breath, and you mustn’t be afraid of heights! Finally, in the Chapter House, you can view the best preserved copy of the Magna Carta. As we toured the cathedral, I was reminded of Blip’s much missed Sarum Stroller, and his stunning images of this beautiful cathedral. Our onward journey went relatively smoothly, and we arrived at Roger’s sister at about 10.45 pm, where our youngest daughter was there to greet us. She had been touring a few areas of the UK with a friend, and had arrived earlier in the day. Our eldest daughter Jen arrives Sunday morning, flying in from Salt Lake City, so the family is coming together!