Day #2 - Salisbury Cathedral and a BBQ

Salisbury Cathedral

Today started a bit groggy, but we were able to get going fairly early thanks to the early bedtime last night!  After a quick breakfast in the main house, we were off in the van-bus headed for Salisbury.  The drive was quite quick - only about 15 minutes.  We parked the vehicle at a friend's house, and then off we went to the cathedral for a VERY up close and personal tour!

The interior of the cathedral

A closeup of the stained glass

We quickly met our guide, Keith, who gave us a brief overview of the history of the church.  The original church was built in nearby Old Sarum in the 1100s, but didn't last.  This cathedral was built relatively quickly, from 1220 to 1258 (the spire was built later) and has foundations going only about 4 feet down!  It was built on chalk gravel, which is why it has held up for over 700 years.

We and then headed up the stairs for an "upwards tour."  Our first stop was on the balcony overlooking the cathedral.  It was quite a view!  We could see the long nave in front of us, and we had quite the closeup of windows behind us!  The photo shown on this blog is some of the oldest glass in the building.

Looking way way way down...

After many steps (300+ in all) we had made it up through and over the nave, and then up to the spire!  We stopped along the way and heard the bells chime noon while being RIGHT NEXT TO THE BELLS!  I didn't catch all of the chiming, but I got enough.  You won't have to cover your ears like we did. :-)

The other thing we got to do was step outside the spire and view the world around us.  As we went around the spire, we could see all of Salisbury as well as the beautiful countryside.  It was quite windy, but actually a lovely day to take in the view.

After many many steps back down to the bottom, we stopped for a quick snack and then headed back inside for a tour of the floor of the cathedral.  It is a beautiful church with many stories to tell.  I took over 200 photos, so I can't share them all, but hopefully I've been able to give you a sense of the cathedral and our day.  Doric is terribly sad that more people don't come to the cathedral when they visit England.  So I am asking all my friends who read my blog, when you come to England, please make it a point to come to Salisbury and see their cathedral.  I've never been given such a complete tour of a church, and it truly is beautiful.

After the tour of the cathedral, we stopped into another area of the cathedral where they keep an original magna carta.  It was amazing to see, but impossible to read.  And, of course, there is no photography, so I have nothing to prove I saw it!

I do however have a wonderful shot of Peter with one of the embroidered cushions from the room. For decoration, they have cushions embroidered with each of the disciples, as well as other important people like John the Baptist and Barnabus.  They also had a pillow for Helga, but we weren't sure who she was.

After the Salisbury cathedral, we took a drive out of Salisbury and around the countryside past Stonehenge.  This was a 'drive-by' viewing, as we slowed down enough for a photo out the window.  It is really fun to see from the car, but really not worth the time to stop, park, pay, walk around, and head back out.  Besides, it was really crowded, and you know how I feel about crowds!

Anyway, we headed home because we needed to help Sara get ready for the Stockbottom BBQ!  Doric and Sara had invited a group of their friends, including children, for an evening party.  The children ate first, and then played kick the can long into the night (and by children I mean all the kids from Peter on up to Andy!)  Steve and I enjoyed meeting everyone and spent much of the evening laughing and sharing stories.

It was a wonderful evening, and a great opportunity to meet more people.  As it became such a late night, we are looking forward to "lying in" tomorrow.  Sara has promised that breakfast tomorrow won't start until 10!