This is the entry that I had prepared on the evening of day 13: "The day before, I had booked a 10 o'clock free entry to Salisbury Cathedral, but when the morning came I preferred to sleep in instead."
As it was, I awoke early and instead decided to go see the cathedral after all. And I am very glad I did. I think as these things go, Salisbury is now my favorite church in the whole wide world, not that the competition is strong for that title.
First, I arrived at the place where you pay for parking. I had my ticket info on my mobile phone and showed it to the old guy on duty. However, when time came to pay for my parking, the card machine refused both my cards. I hadn't bothered to withdraw any cash as I had gotten along electronically thus far and was going home the next day.
In the end he just said I could donate to the church, gave me a sticker to put in my window and gave me directions to the church parking lot. I walked from there the roughly five minutes (others probably take three) to the cathedral close, which is the largest in the UK.
I spent almost half an hour just outside the cathedral, strolling the grounds and taking in the various art pieces that dotted the green. There were quite a few of them and kids were particularly fond of climbing one that gave me associations to my grandfather's ashtray.
Elsewhere, there was a flight of stairs to nowhere in particular, perhaps symbolic of our final ascendance to the guy in the sky; something that may or may not be angel's wings and something possibly purely abstract. Plus loads more that I couldn't be bothered with.
Stairs:
Is this abstract or a human shape or both? See if I care.
Something wing-y.
It is a magnificent, imposing structure.
*Impose, impose*
Finally, the doors opened, and we went in, first to an inner garden with trees and paved floor and some info boards along the wall. This covered walk extended around the whole inner area and is known as a cloister. This, too, is the largest in the UK.
The church tower as seen from the corner of the cloister.
I then entered the church proper. I can't remember exactly where I paid my "donation", but I do remember it was more than the parking fee, so by all measurements I should now be guaranteed a one way trip upwards. Isn't that how these things work?
From inside the entrance area.
It's good to see that the church hasn't lost its taste for ladies of the night...
Mammon is also present.
Model of the cathedral.
Burma!
Supposedly, the cathedral houses the oldest working clock in the world.
Art.
More art. Meh.
The cathedral is interesting from an architectural point. It was built between 1220 and 1258 and since 1549, it has had the highest spire in the UK. It also contains the best kept of the four original copies of Magna Charta, but that exhibit was closed due to the Corona situation.
I talked a little to the volunteers who stood at presumably important places throughout the church and they were all friendly, well informed and in a good mood. No one batted an eye if I mentioned that I was atheist, few Britons can afford to be American fundamentalists on that subject.
The pulpit.
T'was spacious.
There were no terribly important people buried in the cathedral, but I still stopped and photographed a few graves. I also looked up to the mighty roof and got a little lecture about the various restructurings that had taken place over the years, something which I forgot before even leaving the building.
This must have been a badass.
Nice, painted glass.
My ecclesiastic needs met, I then set out for Old Sarum. It was the site of not just the old cathedral, but also a reputedly grand palace, perhaps the grandest looking in the land at the time. Now, all you can see is the foundations.
It's a splendid little site, even in Corona times. Kids can play around and there's a lot of paths, slopes and walls where you can do a proper hide and seek. Needless to say, it is also a place where dogs frolic (outside the walls, that is).
It has a moat!
Hide and seek!
You can walk along the ramparts for much of the way.
...if you dare...
The views over to Salisbury proper from the ramparts of Old Sarum are unsurpassed.
There's a nice area immediately behind Old Sarum, which is very popular among dog walkers and the likes.
Naturally, I was skeptical of Old Sarum.
And Salisbury.
I even shot a video from Old Sarum.
After about an hour I made the final trek down to my hotel in Crawley, but stopped for a decidedly mediocre burger in a Whetherspoon's in Andover.
In Crawley, I managed to confuse the hell out of a delivery guy. I was hungry, so I went online to book something and after several false tries, with places that were closed or didn't do delivery after all, I finally found an Indian place. They promised quick delivery and I sat back and anticipated a huge, good, hot meal.
Twenty minutes later, my cell phone rings. He's outside, where am I? I go down to the reception. Nobody there. I walk around the building, same thing. I have him on the phone the whole time and he sounds more exasperated by the minute.
Turns out, there were two hotels with the same name just a couple of miles apart. Misunderstanding resolved, to his credit, he drove over to my hotel and delivered the meal, which by now was rapidly cooling. I still stuffed face, but it wasn't the best Indian meal I've had in the UK.
