Salisbury Off The Beaten Path

The library in Salisbury is at the corner of the market square next to the Cornmarket Inn. It’s improved a lot over the years & it’s not as dingy as it was. They used to have some swing doors at the front which were very heavy to use, they used to swing back sending you flying across the terrace. The library is approached by a flight of steps inside there is reception and a counter for book renewals/returns. They also have contact point which gives out information on local clubs and societies. There’s also a rear entrance which has a button to push which will open the doors for people in wheelchairs. At the back is the children’s lending library, it’s like being back at school again.

Every first Saturday of the month they run stories & activities for the children from 11-12pm. They also have family Story Time on the 2nd, 4th & 5th Saturday in the month. There are many activities for children here; on entering you notice the fish tank with two goldfish, & the little furniture next to a small blackboard for the kiddies to scribble on.

Upstairs in an artist’s galley where the photographic society displays their work, there’s also an area for reference and using the net. Your only allowed two sessions per hour on the net and it will time out whether your in the middle of work or not, but you do get a warning five minutes beforehand. There’s a lift to the upper levels, sometimes he one by the back access, fails to work for some reason. If you want a book & it’s not in, you may order if for 50p.

The opening hours are:

9-5pm Monday to Friday
Saturday is 4pm.

Ok so this might not have anything to do with travel but I thought I would mention the hospital. It's been here since the 1950's, it used to be ran by the Americana. It has one of the best burns Units in the UK, & they say the staff are very good. There are two entrances, one to the new part while the other goes to the old. Takes a bit of getting round if you never been here before. There's a shop & a cafe just by reception, the shop is round the corner. The Maternity & Downton Ward is nearbye just across the bridge, it's like a rabbit warren & hot as an oven there! You look out a big glass & you can watch the bunnies grooming each other.

Each bed has a TV called "Patient Line", u can watch TV, make phone calls & read your e-mail. they're like little flat screens, there's also the Day room which is like a living room. Patiant Line in Serum Ward (kiddie's dept), turns off promply at 9pm.

The Maternity ward has on-suit bathrooms with shower etc. It's very homelike, & there's a conservatory which is very homley, with outside seats, tv & sofa's.

Elizabeth gardens was once an allotments until the corronation of the present Queen in 1953, and this area was made up in her honour. It's a lovley area with the River Avon cutting through, and a magnificent view of the Cathdral.

This is where Constable did his famouse picture The Heywein, also this is an ideal place to relax and feed the ducks, geese and many other bird wildlife. If you are lucky you might even spot kingfishers and foxes.

There is also a playpark here and sculpted gardens.

So this is a must have well in london or England for that matter. So there is not much to say but it tastes good. Look at the picture to see what you get.

EGGS
TOAST
SAUSAGE
BACON
FRIED TOMATO
SAUTEED MUSHROOMS
BEANS

Eat up and enjoy!

This bastard offspring of Henry II was instrumental in the building of Salisbury Cathedral and was also a leading light in the Second crusade.

His effigy lies in the south Aisle, but he now has notoriety for two other reasons.

Firstly, when his tomb was opened in the 1790's his skull was found to contain a rat that had died of arsenic poisoning (you just couldn't make this stuff up). If you have a macarbe fascination for such things then the disgusting thing can still be found in the nearby Salisbury and South Wilts Museum.

Secondly (and completely unrelated to the first), William Longspee is one of the ancestors of the US president : George Bush. I doubt that he has anything so useful lodged in his skull.

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William Longespee was present when the first stones of the existing cathedral were laid; he was the first person to be buried within it.

Half-brother of King John (of Magna Carta fame), his tomb monument can be found in the South Nave Aisle. It is unusual in that the base is made of wood, with a carved stone top.

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Cadaver tombs represent the decomposing body of the person within: they remind of us that our bodies will decay after death, and only the soul lives on. They are quite common in English cathedrals, though were the exclusive province of the rich and powerful (the only people who could afford to have one created).

Lincoln Cathedral has the earliest, but there is more than one in Salisbury. They became fashionable around the mid-14th century and can also be found in other parts of Europe. Sometimes they have an effigy of the person above, and the rotting corpse beneath but the ones I saw in Salisbury were just the cadaver itself.

I find them a fascinating insight into the Medieval mind.

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There's a rather beautiful piece of modern art in Salisbury Cathedral. Nothing much is made of it (no special pointers or anything) but it's worth noticing.

Created by William Pye, Sibirica Minor ll was installed in 2005. Its waters appear still when they are, in fact, in constant motion. They provide wonderful reflections of the stained glass and stonework within the cathedral.

Seek it out; it's near the entrance, but easily missed.

The wooden carvings in the 'quire' (choir) of Salisbury Cathedral are not all the Medieval originals, but are well worth exploring nevertheless.

The oak canon stalls date from 1236, and are the earliest in the country.

Look under the little drop-down seats (misericords) provided for weary monks to rest their bottoms during services. They date from the 13th century, and are decorated with foliage. The front row of seats are half-replaced with 17th century versions.

Look on the ends of the pews, and above the stalls.

Green men, musical angels, insects and animals abound. Many of them date from the restoration of the mid-19thcentury, but are beautifully skilful pieces of work.

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It was difficult to take pictures inside the cathedral and flash would not have helped because the area was too large to be illuminated in that way. I tried to take a picture of the way that they had dealt with the fact that the spire was tilted due to the original plans not having anticipated having to support such a high structure, but those pictures did not turn out. The tower has internal flying buttresses and even from the ground one can see the columns bending under the weight and see that the tower has tilted.

I do have two interior shots, and this is one of them. It shows the interior decoration and one of the newer stained glass windows.

"Gabrielle Loire from Chartres, France designed the Prisoners of Conscience window in 1980. The candle for Amnesty International and the details on the adopted prisoners of conscience are just below this striking blue glass window in the Trinity Chapel at the east end of the Cathedral."

There is a tour one can take climbing 332 steps by narrow winding spiral staircases to reach to the foot of the spire 225 feet above ground level. I have not taken this tour as I have bad knees and do not do stairs.

I understand that from here you can see up into the spire through the original medieval scaffold, and from the outside you can see over the city and surrounding countryside.

This tour lasts approximately 1.5 hours. Times vary throughout the year.There is a separate charge for a tower tour (4GBP for Adults, 3GBP for Children & Seniors) This is in addition to the *required voluntary* charge for viewing the cathedral.

The website says: "Children must be at least 4ft (120cm) tall and 5 years old. Each child aged 5-10 must be individually accompanied by a responsible adult... Some of the stone spiral staircases date back to the 13th century and have no hand rails"