Worcester – ‘The Faithful City’
Worcester is the cosmopolitan centre of a largely rural county. With medieval buildings alongside modern shopping centres, it is a city of contrasts. (Photo by David Merrett)
Lichfield – ‘city of philosophers’
Lichfield's chequered past - from devastation in the English Civil War to its 18th-century heyday as a "city of philosophers" - makes it a fascinating destination. (Photo by Cathedral City Guide)
Winchester – ‘England’s ancient capital’
The ancient English capital city of Winchester makes the ideal base for exploring rural Hampshire and its two national parks. (Photo by Herry Lawford)
Earlier this month Cathedral City Guide attended the private view of the ‘BirdSong & Blossom’ international mosaic exhibition in the cathedral city of Exeter.
Website co-founder Sarah is a mosaic artist herself and one of her pieces is featured in the exhibition. This gave us the perfect reason to visit Exeter and combine two of our interests.
‘BirdSong & Blossom’, held at the Opus Mosaic gallery and studio shop on historic Fore Street, brings together pieces by more than 30 mosaic artists from across the UK and beyond.
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We’re very pleased to report that our photo group on Flickr, ‘Cathedral Cities of Great Britain’, now has more than 1,500 photos.
I’d like to extend our thanks to all the 180 members who have shared their stunning photography with the group.
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Exeter’s 20-room Telstar may call itself a hotel, but it offers all the advantages of a traditional English B&B. The building is characterful, the breakfast exceptional, and the atmosphere convivial.
First though, the location. The Devon cathedral city of Exeter is small enough to explore on foot, and being on St David’s Hill the Telstar is well placed to take advantage of that. St Davids railway station is five minutes’ walk away in one direction and the city centre is 10 minutes in the other. You can even reach Exeter’s historic quay within 20 minutes.
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The cathedral cities of Oxford, Norwich and Gloucester held more Heritage Open Days events in 2012 than any other local authority, according to recently released figures.
Taking place over a four-day period in September every year, Heritage Open Days offer free access to places across England that usually charge admission or are closed to the public.
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St George’s Day, the feast day of England’s patron saint, is celebrated on 23 April – that’s next Tuesday.
Although the day is neither a national holiday, nor as popular as, say, St Patrick’s Day is in Ireland, there will still be plenty of St George’s Day events taking place either this weekend or on the day itself.
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The cathedral cities of Chester and Aberdeen have both put themselves forward to become the UK City of Culture in 2017.
The pair will now compete for the title against Dundee, East Kent, Hastings and Bexhill on Sea, Hull, Leicester, Plymouth, Portsmouth and Southampton, Southend on Sea, and Swansea Bay. The East Kent area includes the cathedral city of Canterbury as well as the towns of Margate, Ashford and Folkestone.
The 11 competitors have until the end of the month to submit their initial bids. An independent panel will reveal a shortlist in June, with the winner announced in November.
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The Devon cathedral city of Exeter is the fourth happiest place to live in the UK, according to a recent study by Rightmove.
Almost 40,000 people were surveyed for this year’s ‘Happy at Home’ index, which took into account twelve distinct factors including recreation, property value and amenities.
Exeter, which last year came 10th overall, topped this year’s table for ‘neighbourliness’ and also scored well for ‘pride in your home’ and ‘community safety’.
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Just a quick update to tell you about a couple of developments with Cathedral City Guide.
First up, we’ve added a ‘submit event’ form to our Events page. So if you think there’s something missing from our events calendar, it’s now even easier to let us know! Of course, you can always still email us if you prefer.
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How would you like a free two-hour walking tour of Oxford for up to 15 people?
Well, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what the people at Oxford City Walk are giving away as part of their birthday celebrations.
Not only that, but they are throwing in a £20 voucher to spend at The Cake Shop in Oxford Covered Market. Those cupcakes sure look good!
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You may not know this but Cathedral City Guide co-founder Sarah also happens to be a mosaic artist.
One of her pieces is being featured in an international mosaic exhibition in Exeter in May – which is a great excuse to combine two of our interests and visit the city.
Apart from the exhibition we have no firm plans, so we would love to hear your suggestions and recommendations for our time there.
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