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!

I like Bath Abbey and the shop is fantastic .

Trying to upload Beverley musicians!

Beverley also has great choir stall ends and misericords. Wells has superb misericords too. These are examples from Beverley.

Oh, they're just wonderful! Thank you.

Ely or Lincoln (with it’s Lincoln Imp).

Sherborne Abbey, every time! fan vaulting to die for

Liverpool Metropolitan is the most beautiful 😍

I’ve wanted to go there for seven years!

Worcester's west window is stunning.
The whole building is quite special.

I have a silver Lincoln Imp charm on my charm bracelet!

Loving these and adding more information about Ripon Cathedral and the connection with Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. A close up of one of the carvings.

https://philemeryvisits.com/ripon-cathedral/

St Magnus

Wells, Somerset.

Saving this thread for when I get time to get back to the UK.

I’ve been to Bangor, York, Ely, Peterborough, and Westminster.
All so different and worth seeing for themselves.
Bangor has the little wooden mice hidden about the pews.
There’s an absolutely massive stained glass window that was being restored at York.
the ceilings and stained glass at Ely were incredible.
Then Westminster has the royal tombs, poets corner, Cosmati pavement, and I think one of the oldest doors in Britain.
I can’t remember much about Peterborough beyond the tomb of Katherine of Aragon.

I love Lincoln Cathedral - the tower tour is brilliant and on a clear day you can see Boston stump from the top. I also like its position facing the castle. That part of Lincoln is very nice

I live opposite pershore abbey, this along with Worcester are special I think

It’s so hard to choose, but these that I have visited are, in my view, marvellous:

York Minster
Durham Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Wells Cathedral
Saint David’s Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral

Lincoln, my home city. The way you can see it for miles in every direction and it's such a part of the skyline is amazing, but it's lovely inside too.

Liverpool Cathedral (St.James’ Mount) is stunning. You must also visit the beautiful Lady Chapel which I missed on my first visit.

Norwich Cathedral is lovely. The also have an RC one.

Love it!
and Gloucester
Both norman

Exeter, definitely.
@Smallpoxy my GS is a chorister! I have spent so much time there recently and it feels like home.

Your mention of Pershore Abbey reminds me of this poem by Betjeman which I think belongs on this thread!

The train at Pershore station was waiting that Sunday night
Gas light on the platform, in my carriage electric light,
Gas light on frosty evergreens, electric on Empire wood,
The Victorian world and the present in a moment's neighbourhood.
There was no one about but a conscript who was saying good-bye to his love
On the windy weedy platform with the sprinkled stars above
When sudden the waiting stillness shook with the ancient spells
Of an older world than all our worlds in the sound of the Pershore bells.
They were ringing them down for Evensong in the lighted abbey near,
Sounds which had poured through apple boughs for seven centuries here.

It has to be Lincoln, because many local people treat it as their parish church. There is a regular congregation every Sunday for the 09.30 and everyone then heads to the Chapter House for coffee afterwards. I confess my bias - my father was a senior steward who was largely responsible for encouraging extending visitor access to the roof and tower. My mother polished all the brass candlesticks and the choral music was superb - especially when they introduced a girls’ choir separate from the boys’ choir.
Lincoln Cathedral has had its scandals over the years - but that adds to its splendid history.

St Paul's is spectacular