With Sarah spending a fair amount of time working away down in the south-west of England, we took the opportunity to combine one of these trips by taking a little time out to spend some time with my brother Chris, who lives in Bournemouth. We then decided to all go and visit Winchester for the day. Sarah and I have never been there before.

Arriving in Winchester we hopped on to the Park and Ride into the centre of the city

We were greeted by the statue of King Alfred the Great.

In particular, however, we wanted to visit Winchester Cathedral. So, we made our way through the Abbey Gardens.

This brings you in at the back-end of the cathedral.

After paying to enter the cathedral we made our way over to the nave. It immediately provided that opening magnificent sense of awe and majesty that you get when visiting a cathedral.

We next visited the Treasury which exhibited a collection of church plates from across the Diocese.

The Cathedral has over 1400 years of history – though the present building only dates back to 1079. It includes a number of chantry chapels holding the remains of former bishops

There are, of course, in most church buildings, plenty of icons, many of which are easy to pass by and miss.

Wandering down, we made our way through the Quire and Presbytery.

The detail in the High Altar is fantastic.

At the far end of the cathedral are a number of chapels. The one in the photo is the Lady Chapel which was interesting in that the walls retained their early 16th-century wall paintings.

Behind the High Altar, there are Icons by Sergei Fyodorov.

The Crypt is the oldest part of the building and contains Anthony Gormley’s sculpture Sound II.

The font is 12th-century. Made from Tournai marble it is engraved with scenes from the life of Saint Nicholas.

Winchester Cathedral is the resting place of Kings and Queens (e.g. King Canute), and a place where events they have participated in has shaped history. It is also the resting place of ordinary people such as Jane Austen.

Upon leaving the cathedral we headed off to the refectory.

Later we had a quick wander up the high street.

We passed through the Westgate.

We arrived at the remains of a tower on the castle walls. Winchester was for awhile the capital of England. Nearby, was the Great Hall including the roundtable around which it is said King Alfred’s court ruled his dominion. However, we had run out of time to actually go inside the hall.

Returning, we passed the Buttercross. The city cross was the focal point for civil ceremonies in the middle ages.

Finally, we passed by the Guildhall.

Finally, it was time to head home.

Our visit had only been brief, but as this blog post has shown, there is plenty to do. Winchester is well worth visiting if you have the time.