Great Cathedrals of the Southwest

Summary

Romanesque to Gothic

This tour in the heart of South Western England offers you an architectural journey of a collection of some of our most glorious cathedrals. From the Norman Conquest to the 16^th century Reformation, you will tour the breadth of the Middle Ages, with access behind the scenes of these magnificent edifices. Immersed in the minds and lives of past masons and monarchs, this tour unravels the extraordinary construction of the cathedrals so intricately laced with the political, social, economic and cultural history of England. Each of the cathedrals is important, historically and architecturally, in its own right. Salisbury Cathedral is famed for its breath-taking 123-metre spire, as well as for housing one of only four extant copies of Magna Carta. In turn, Winchester—an outstanding example of all the main phases of English Norman and Gothic—was once one of the most important royal churches in Anglo-Saxon England and is the burial place for some of the earliest kings, including King Alfred the Great. Lastly, Wells Cathedral, described as “the most poetic of the English Cathedrals” and set in the medieval heart of England’s smallest city, is the earliest English cathedral to be built in the Gothic style. Explore the lives, legends and scandals of the people who built these magnificent skyscrapers of glass and stone – both up the pinnacles and down in the crypts.

Tour highlights:

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• Enjoy behind-the-scenes access to the art and architectural of magnificent national treasures
• See one of the few original copies of the extraordinary Magna Carta, so crucial to shaping legal systems
• Embark on expert, guided tours of 3 extraordinary cathedrals to explore their unique artefacts and histories