Zeke’s guidebook
Sightseeing
The building is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English Gothic architecture. Its main body was completed in 38 years, from 1220 to 1258.
The spire, built in 1320, at 404 feet (123 m), has been the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom since 1561. Visitors can take the "Tower Tour", in which the interior of the hollow spire, with its ancient wooden scaffolding, can be viewed. The cathedral has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain at 80 acres (32 ha). It contains a clock which is among the oldest working examples in the world, and has the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta. In 2008, the cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration.
I would recommend viewing the cathedral over 2 days to be able to digest the splendour. The Chapter House is one of my favourite parts of the tour, and home to the national treasure the Magna Carta.
You will have to pre book up the Spire tour in advance.
302 locals recommend
Salisbury Cathedral
The building is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English Gothic architecture. Its main body was completed in 38 years, from 1220 to 1258.
The spire, built in 1320, at 404 feet (123 m), has been the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom since 1561. Visitors can take the "Tower Tour", in which the interior of the hollow spire, with its ancient wooden scaffolding, can be viewed. The cathedral has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain at 80 acres (32 ha). It contains a clock which is among the oldest working examples in the world, and has the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta. In 2008, the cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration.
I would recommend viewing the cathedral over 2 days to be able to digest the splendour. The Chapter House is one of my favourite parts of the tour, and home to the national treasure the Magna Carta.
You will have to pre book up the Spire tour in advance.
It’s a must see and great for picnic time on a hot day or just for a very nice walk.
Have a little dip in the river, and enjoy and ice cream.
11 locals recommend
Queen Elizabeth Gardens
Crane Bridge RoadIt’s a must see and great for picnic time on a hot day or just for a very nice walk.
Have a little dip in the river, and enjoy and ice cream.
City/town information
I have lived in Salisbury all my life and thoroughly love it. The medieval oak buildings are of immense beauty and endearing character. Salisbury boasts a multitude of medieval pubs some licensed since the build of the cathedral circa 1220 to 1258 and make very nice places to enjoy a relaxed beverage and food.
The Haunch and venison is my favourite pub full of medieval character and hosts good pub grub too.
The flat is situated in West Harnham which is 15 minutes walk across the beautiful famous water meadows where the artist John Constable made his Mark with his amazing oil paintings of the Old Mill and the Meadows.
There is also many parks my favourite being Elizabeth Gardens, known to locals as Lizzie Gardens, the River Avon flanks it on two sides creating an pirate island. It is the closest park to the city centre and a must visit with a picnic on a hot day.
246 locals recommend
Salisbury
I have lived in Salisbury all my life and thoroughly love it. The medieval oak buildings are of immense beauty and endearing character. Salisbury boasts a multitude of medieval pubs some licensed since the build of the cathedral circa 1220 to 1258 and make very nice places to enjoy a relaxed beverage and food.
The Haunch and venison is my favourite pub full of medieval character and hosts good pub grub too.
The flat is situated in West Harnham which is 15 minutes walk across the beautiful famous water meadows where the artist John Constable made his Mark with his amazing oil paintings of the Old Mill and the Meadows.
There is also many parks my favourite being Elizabeth Gardens, known to locals as Lizzie Gardens, the River Avon flanks it on two sides creating an pirate island. It is the closest park to the city centre and a must visit with a picnic on a hot day.
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about 2 miles (3 km) north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest records in the country. It is an English Heritage property and is open to the public.
A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century, housed at Salisbury Cathedral
The great stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury were erected nearby and indications of prehistoric settlement have been discovered from as early as 3000 bc. An Iron Age hillfort was erected around 400 bc, controlling the intersection of two trade paths and the Hampshire Avon. The site continued to be occupied during the Roman period, when the paths were made into roads. The Saxons took the British fort in the 6th century and later used it as a stronghold against marauding Vikings. The Normans constructed a motte and bailey castle, a stone curtain wall, and a great cathedral. A royal palace was built within Old Sarum Castle for King Henry I and was subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs. This heyday of the settlement lasted for around 300 years until disputes between the Sheriff of Wiltshire and the Bishop of Salisbury finally led to the removal of the church into the nearby plain. As New Salisbury grew up around the construction site for the new cathedral in the early 13th century, the buildings of Old Sarum were dismantled for stone and the old town dwindled. Its long-neglected castle was abandoned by Edward II in 1322 and sold by Henry VIII in 1514.
Although the settlement was effectively uninhabited, its landowners continued to have parliamentary representation into the 19th century, making it one of the most notorious of the rotten boroughs that existed before the Reform Act of 1832. Old Sarum served as a pocket borough of the Pitt family.
Edward Rutherfurd's 1987 novel Sarum traces the history of the town.
59 locals recommend
Old Sarum
Castle RdOld Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about 2 miles (3 km) north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest records in the country. It is an English Heritage property and is open to the public.
A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century, housed at Salisbury Cathedral
The great stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury were erected nearby and indications of prehistoric settlement have been discovered from as early as 3000 bc. An Iron Age hillfort was erected around 400 bc, controlling the intersection of two trade paths and the Hampshire Avon. The site continued to be occupied during the Roman period, when the paths were made into roads. The Saxons took the British fort in the 6th century and later used it as a stronghold against marauding Vikings. The Normans constructed a motte and bailey castle, a stone curtain wall, and a great cathedral. A royal palace was built within Old Sarum Castle for King Henry I and was subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs. This heyday of the settlement lasted for around 300 years until disputes between the Sheriff of Wiltshire and the Bishop of Salisbury finally led to the removal of the church into the nearby plain. As New Salisbury grew up around the construction site for the new cathedral in the early 13th century, the buildings of Old Sarum were dismantled for stone and the old town dwindled. Its long-neglected castle was abandoned by Edward II in 1322 and sold by Henry VIII in 1514.
Although the settlement was effectively uninhabited, its landowners continued to have parliamentary representation into the 19th century, making it one of the most notorious of the rotten boroughs that existed before the Reform Act of 1832. Old Sarum served as a pocket borough of the Pitt family.
Edward Rutherfurd's 1987 novel Sarum traces the history of the town.