After two weeks of foggy, misty and gloomy weather, this morning the clouds start to move away and it looks it is going to a good day for outing. I have signed up with London walks for an exploration day to Salisbury and Stonehenge. The train journey going to Salisbury is quite uneventful, it is southwest train off London, passing through a lot of farm lands (two thirds of Britain is covered by farm land).
The Salisbury cathedral was built on water meadows in 13th century, a bit unusual for an architecture of this scale as it has the tallest spire in Britain. The foundation is only 4 foot high which is not that much considering the height and the size of the cathedral. It is noon when we get there, a quiet but very picturesque small town. There is a fisherman standing in the water fishing trout. Hilary, the guide from London starts telling us the stories behind this legendary cathedral. Legend says that the founder of the cathedral shot an arrow to decide where the cathedral should be built and the arrow landed right on the water meadow where the cathedral stands today. It’s been an inspiring place for a lot of writers and artists. Constable had a few famous paintings showing the cathedral and its surroundings.
As we walk passed the old houses around cathedral, we heard more sometimes rather amusing stories about the old owners/founders of these magnificent houses, one of which until today has been a house for widows. And across the street, there is a big house which used to be kings wardrobe, a bit mind blowing really to imagine the royal family life in the old days.
The cathedral is quite a massive building in typical early English Gothic style, and my eyes are soon attracted by the blue tinted glasses in the back of the cathedral where the high altar is displayed. I have seen many churches/cathedrals around Europe, and nearly all of them have beautiful tinted glasses, but the blue ones here are really eye catching due to a very distinguishing blue colour they used. There are quite a few tomb stones laying on different parts of the cathedral, and the stories behind these stones are anything from mysterious, enchanting to bloody and violent. Then we are led to the high altar where there are a few white angels hanging in the air.
The chapter house connected to the cathedral is a historical treasure due to some very important documents stored here. Magna Carta (1215), the first and closest version of the rights of the liberty has been kept here, which is one of four surviving copies to date. Personally to me, it is amazing to realize how history has evolved in the development of democracy. I guess it is fair to say that democracy is a long bumpy road but we have to take.
The Salisbury cathedral was built on water meadows in 13th century, a bit unusual for an architecture of this scale as it has the tallest spire in Britain. The foundation is only 4 foot high which is not that much considering the height and the size of the cathedral. It is noon when we get there, a quiet but very picturesque small town. There is a fisherman standing in the water fishing trout. Hilary, the guide from London starts telling us the stories behind this legendary cathedral. Legend says that the founder of the cathedral shot an arrow to decide where the cathedral should be built and the arrow landed right on the water meadow where the cathedral stands today. It’s been an inspiring place for a lot of writers and artists. Constable had a few famous paintings showing the cathedral and its surroundings.
As we walk passed the old houses around cathedral, we heard more sometimes rather amusing stories about the old owners/founders of these magnificent houses, one of which until today has been a house for widows. And across the street, there is a big house which used to be kings wardrobe, a bit mind blowing really to imagine the royal family life in the old days.
The cathedral is quite a massive building in typical early English Gothic style, and my eyes are soon attracted by the blue tinted glasses in the back of the cathedral where the high altar is displayed. I have seen many churches/cathedrals around Europe, and nearly all of them have beautiful tinted glasses, but the blue ones here are really eye catching due to a very distinguishing blue colour they used. There are quite a few tomb stones laying on different parts of the cathedral, and the stories behind these stones are anything from mysterious, enchanting to bloody and violent. Then we are led to the high altar where there are a few white angels hanging in the air.
The chapter house connected to the cathedral is a historical treasure due to some very important documents stored here. Magna Carta (1215), the first and closest version of the rights of the liberty has been kept here, which is one of four surviving copies to date. Personally to me, it is amazing to realize how history has evolved in the development of democracy. I guess it is fair to say that democracy is a long bumpy road but we have to take.
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