What is your favourite UK Cathedral (or Minster/Abbey)?

[Littledidsheknow]

The companion thread to my “favourite castles”thread!
Which is your favourite UK cathedral?
I love side chapels, bell towers, stained glass, cloisters, burial places, flying buttresses, crypts, interesting history… all the classic stuff!

I’ve particularly enjoyed Lincoln, York Minster, Winchester, Wells and Salisbury in recent years.
I used to live in Worcester, and enjoyed popping in there after a bit of shopping, too.

Please recommend your favourites! Thanks!

Liverpool Catholic Cathedral (also known affectionately as Paddy's Wigwam and the Mersey Funnel).
More traditionally, Norwich, Wells, Ripon and Durham.

I love Westminster Abbey. Also Liverpool Catherdral - fascinating as it’s so new, gives you an idea of the bright splendour of all the old, tarnished stone ones when they were built. Durham also - spectacular both when you see the view of it and inside. I do love an old church!

Peterborough is beautiful. Also love York and Durham.

Ely is my favourite. Breath-taking.

St. Pauls
York
Canterbury

#TeamDurham

Liverpool!

Rosslyn Chapel. One of DH's friends got married there years ago. Beautiful inside and out.

I love Exeter and Durham. The ruins of the old cathedral next to the new one in Coventry are pretty haunting, especially the charred cross.

Fun fact regarding Rochester. Even though it’s got a cathedral, it’s no longer classed as a city, because when there was some council-type reorganisation a while back, someone forgot to reapply (to the Queen?) for its city status.

I've been to a lot of these over the years. I can't think of one that I haven't enjoyed.
Norwich and Ely are both good - and local so I guess I've seen more of those.
St Alban's has a wooden structure the monks could watch over pilgrims from.
Lincoln was blissfully cool in a heatwave after walking up Steep Hill.
Bury St Edmunds has a recently built tower which blows my mind really.
My preference is the older the better generally though.

Coventry. Just breathtaking. The building itself is incredible, and it houses so much wonderful art as well. Plus it's the inspiration for Britten's War Requiem.

Peterborough. It's an exquisite oasis in the middle of a mediocre city.

Gloucester for the fan vaulting.
Hereford for the Mappa Mundi and Magna Carta.
York Minster for the Blue Peter bosses (the best Blue Peter conpetition ever).

I do have to downvote Durham and York though for being unwelcoming to tourists, a side effect of their popularity probably.

Aren’t we lucky to have so many wonderful cathedrals?
I’ve been lucky enough to sing in many of those mentioned, and in Southwark every Christmas. Fantastic acoustics.

Family university memories are of lovely Llandaff (with the fantastic Epstein), King’s College Chapel and Durham.

And how about St David’s?

Some places I’d love to visit mentioned here; and quite a few I had visited and forgotten about that me be worth a revisit.

I also pleased by the love for Liverpool Catholic cathedral, and Clifton Cathedral in Bristol. Modern cathedrals are magnificent, too!

York . York minster is staggeringly beautiful. I do mainly visit york though because my DS and DGC live there .

My top three:
St David's.
Gloucester.
Wells.

Both of the cathedrals in Liverpool - at each end of Hope Street.

This is a lovely thread.

When I was about 14 I read “Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth. My dad soon after decided to take me to see Tintern Abbey. We were the only ones there. The ruins were lovely.

I love Westminster Cathedral, despite not being Catholic: it makes me feel instantly calm and peaceful when I walk in. It’s a glittering, mystical Arts & Crafts gem, full of natural materials: the contrast between the shimmering tiles and the unfinished smoky brickwork in the vaulted ceilings is unexpectedly moving - a reminder of human feet of clay beneath divine spirituality.

Can't say I've stepped inside many cathedrals but I do love our cathedral here in Exeter.

I totally agree regarding Coventry. The connection with the ruined cathedral is so moving but the new part of the building has something intangibly transporting about it.

The stained glass in Clifton Cathedral is fabulous. If you're visiting it's also worth crossing the road to All Saints church. Part old, part new, amazing stained glass and the most peaceful atmosphere.

Wherever we are, I always look for a visit to the best churches and cathedrals. I’d like to suggest getting a guide book about the best ones to visit because they are a fantastic source of art and history.

Id like to add in Beverley Minster. They have a huge collection of medieval carved stone musicians. A whole orchestra of instruments we don’t see any more. I’ve attached a couple.

Also Peterborough has a wonderful painted ceiling. It’s a series of lozenges painted in the early 13th century and it’s one of only 4 similar ceilings in the whole of Europe. Definitely worth a visit.