Salisbury Cathedral tower tour

The internal wooden scaffolding structure of the c1320 spire at Salisbury Cathedral which is hollow, as seen on one of their amazing tours. A windy day made for some exciting climbs up stairs with the whistling noise all around, some very scared tourists and some disappointing views from a vantage point atop the tower (209ft up!)

Salisbury Christmas Market 2013

Particularly quiet at Salisbury Christmas Market this evening, loads of stalls, fantastic selection of food on sale, lovely smells floating around of Mulled wine, hot chocolate, churros & even a Swiss Raclette stall!

A day out in Winchester.....

Lovely day off, spent the whole day in Winchester in & around the Cathedral. Lunch at the Old Vine and an evening shopping at the Christmas Market in the Cathedral grounds. The Old Vine is a A new find & one I shall be revisiting, a lovely pub in Cathedral square, an old fashioned dining room with log fire, excellent food, great service & good value.

Took a guided tour of the tower which included a rooftop walk, as we were the only 2 people booked and they were training a new guide, the 90 minutes turned into 2.5 hours with the guides showing us all of the hidden bits that bigger tours don't get to see. The photograph shows looking directly south from the very top of Winchester Cathedral, Winchester College to the left of the picture, the Wykeham Arms in the streets below, St Cross just below the horizon & in the distance on a clear day you can see the Isle of Wight, you could just make out the flares at Fawley today.









My photograph from the "most photographed spot in Europe" according to the guide. It is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. It was said that Hitler didn't bomb the area, as he wanted to be crowned ruler of England in the cathedral when the war was won, such is the historical significance of this City as a powerbase for England. It is said that at one time one third of the available currency [gold & silver] was stored in the Chancery in the cathedral.

The Christmas market by night, lovely in the middle of the week, heaving madness at weekends apparently.

A tree reduced to logs......

... but only after it was struck down in the gales last month.

A local huge cedar tree felled by the winds has been converted to fire wood for the winter. Lot's & lot's of lovely slow burning firewood, makes me wish I had an open fire again.