Wednesday 16 August 2017

Lovely Lichfield: Exploring Lichfield Cathedral

During my years of travels in the UK and Nice Days Out one of my greatest surprises has been just how much I enjoy exploring churches and cathedrals. I'm not at all religious, spent very little time in churches growing up, and honestly thought I'd find it a bit weird to visit them when sightseeing but - oh! - what interesting buildings they can be!

History and meaning and craftsmanship and beauty and incredible architecture and oh so many details to discover... all crammed into buildings which (more often than not) are free to visit and an oasis of calm in a busy town or city.

 

A few weeks ago I blogged about my trip to Lichfield, including Erasmus Darwin House and the Cathedral Close. Lichfield's Cathedral was the main reason I'd decided to visit the city and it did not disappoint.

 
 
 
 

It's an impressive Gothic building with three spires and a vast array of carved figures of kings, queens, and saints - and there's no shortage of interesting things to see inside, as well.

 
 
 
 

I spent a long time looking round and ended up chatting to several very friendly volunteers who filled me in on some of the building's history and pointed out fascinating things I'd missed.

Naturally (because I'm the world's slowest travel blogger and am only just now blogging about a holiday I took two years ago) I've forgotten pretty much everything they told me but the memory of the beauty of this place and the warm welcome from the volunteers is still a very strong and happy one.


For more info about visiting Lichfield Cathedral click here.

You can read about the rest of my trip to Lichfield (including the charming Cathedral Close) here. I visited Lichfield as a day trip during a week's stay in nearby Birmingham, which I loved. Follow the links to read about Birmingham's excellent architecture, museums, and Jewellery Quarter.

2 comments:

bairozan said...

No doubt, cathedrals emit a sense of dignity and splendor and are a must to visit. I am not religious, too, but I loved visiting cathedrals during a short stay in the UK. And I found the volunteers were very helpful and hard working, these people are incredible!

Bugs and Fishes said...

Yes, the volunteers in cathedrals (and places like museums and stately homes too) are always amazing! :)