14 July Salisbury

July 14th Salisbury

Decided to experience the sights and sounds of Salisbury. Many of these historical cities have really narrow streets so a solution to this is the park and ride system. You park your car in the outskirts in a secure area and a shuttle bus takes you into the CBD for a nominal charge. Wendy being over 60 has a card, which means she can take her and 3 other passengers for free as long as they ride in one car.
Many of the historical buildings have a modern use; the cinema is no exception. In a former life it was a wool merchant. The building had wonderful stained glass windows and frescoes. We strolled through the town to the Cathedral Close where many lovely homes reside. All owned by the church but none can be sold for public use with the exception of Edward Heath, a former Prime Minister. He was allowed to buy and own his house. Sadly he passed away 3 years ago. His estate was donated back to the people of Salisbury. The gardens were open for inspection today at a cost of 8 pounds. We passed. Other housing was for clergy widows. There are schools in the close. Sam went to Leaden Hall, an exclusive public school where Constable stayed and considered his art for the cathedral. The jury is still out whether she turned out right. We also went to the Military Museum (built in the 13th Century and was once used as a store house for the Bishop’s documents and clothes) which was really well laid out with Memorabilia from all the major wars going back as far as the Crimea war and American Civil Wars. Really interesting. Following a late lunch we did a tour of the Cathedral. Our guide was a very interesting lady. Very short, With a name like Muriel Dagg she was truly frightening. Even I was scared of her. I wanted to know if she was related to Fred or had a son called Trevor, but decided not to go there. She was bilingual and spoke fluent German and took no nonsense from anybody. She was a great tour guide. The conclusion of the tour we viewed the Magna Carta. There are 4 copies in existence and Salisbury Cathedral has the most legible copy. Took great photos of the day. You are only viewing a small selection. Went to a fabulous Italian Restaurant for dinner