Your Favourite Cathedral

Canterbury or York Minster.

Norwich and Ely.

Durham. My home town.

Lincoln and York Minster...and Durham.

Canterbury, where I was born, though not in the cathedral! When I had my first baby, one of the routes I took into town with the pram was through the cathedral.

In those days you could walk through King’s school, the cloisters and into the cathedral itself. There was always work being done so workmen were happy to put planks down on steps so I could get through easily. I have such happy memories of that.

Then there are its treasures, the stained glass, Thomas a Becket’s martyrdom, the Black Prince relics, the crypt and much more.

I now live hundreds of miles away so a visit is a rare thing.

Canterbury Cathedral was on my friend’s bucket list. So her lovely son decided to take her and invited me to join them, as company for his mum😂. It was a long trip but well worth it.
So I would say Canterbury Cathedral is my favourite,

York..obviously 😂but Durham is beautiful

Having lived in the Canterbury area for 35 years, obviously it’s my favourite. Like sueD, I have been in and out, my children grew up going round and especially enjoying the “pocket watch” - a portable sundial.
Then DD got a scholarship and did her A levels at King’s, so I got to know more of the precincts. By that time, one had to pay to go in, unless you were a regular worshiper in the diocese, when you could get a free pass. Happy days!
I haven’t been to many other cathedral but Winchester and Lincoln are very lovely and interesting.

St Albans.

Toledo is beautiful.

Without a doubt, Durham. Perched high on a promontory overlooking the River Wear, it is solid, and very true to its origins with the most perfect examples of Norman architecture you will see anywhere in England. It also houses the shrine of St Cuthbert.

Salisbury cathedral

But a very close second for me
comes Wells cathedral

St David’s in Wales, stunning location

Hard to say really because we can only judge the ones we've seen. I thought Canterbury was spactacular. We were there last winter, you have to pay to go in now. I also loved Westminster Abbey when I worked in London. Both places steeped in history and very interesting in what they contain.

I also have a soft spot for St David’s, silverlining.

Obviously Durham. As written by Bill Bryson ‘the best cathedral on Earth’.

Winchester, the local one and my office overlooked it for the last few years I was working.

Hereford .... mainly because I have some sung there countless times and enjoyed so many beautiful concerts there. It has a sweet little chapel there where I used to take the children ... it has a stained glass window with little creatures in it that they loved finding. It also has the Mappa Mundi which is now housed separately and you need a ticket, but for years it was just on the wall. I commissioned a choral work about it which included children all singing about the fantastical creatures in the map.

I also love St David's... wonderful memories of festival week when we would walk the coast path all day then soak up beautiful music in the cathedral all evening.

When I wrote my post about Durham this morning, I had a phrase I use about it that I simply couldn’t bring to mind then. It is this: it breathes its history into you as soon as you step through the doors.

What an interesting thread to hear people's personal views.

DH is a cathedral chorister and I have attended services across the country. Every cathedral is special in its own way.

I'm going to choose Reims because the blue Chagall stained glass windows took my breath away.

Ely and Salisbury, Gloucester close second

Chichester, very much part of the town centre, and one that does not charge admittance.

Ripon because the Cathedral is so much a part of the City, we often go to evensong.
It is also free!
The crypt dating from 672 is the oldest serving structure of any Cathedral.
We once went to the carol service where the choirmaster had us all sing While Shepherds Watch to the tune of “On Ilkley Moor Bar Tat”.
Great fun

Next is Lincoln, we have an annual membership as we live close by, it was used in the filming of the Da Vinci Code..