There are places that you visit that naturally illicit oohs and aahs from friends and family when you share your travel stories. These places are usually on some kind of ‘Top 100 Places You Should See’ list and have rightfully earned their street cred as bastions of world travel. There are other places, though, that just don’t generate the type of excitement of the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal, but in their unassuming nature, they gently become a part of the traveler’s soul. Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, England is just such a place.
With a soaring Gothic paragon practically on every corner, it’s hard for a cathedral to really break into the big time in the travel world, but it turns out that Winchester Cathedral has a bit of its own pizazz -including the distinction of being the longest cathedral in Europe and the burial place of Jane Austen. While those elements are unique and noteworthy, it is the crypt that makes Winchester Cathedral memorable.
The crypt is one of the oldest parts of the 1000 year old cathedral and inside you can see some of the original design of the building. Stumpy columns and low-vaulted Norman ceilings create an atmosphere of simplistic beauty and intrigue. Tours of the crypt are available in the summer months, but during the winter the crypt floods and the best you can hope for is to peer into the arched doorway. Showcased below the oppressive arches is a life sized statue of a man contemplating the drops of water in his cupped hands. The contemporary sculpture was placed in the crypt in 1986 by celebrated sculptor Anthony Gormley. The water in the crypt usually rises up to the knees of the sculpture and together with the Norman architecture, the modern man creates the perfect reflection of the past and the present in the pools below.
Somewhat surprisingly, the combination of the sweeping nave and evocative crypt have landed Winchester Cathedral on this list of Top 100 Travel Destinations. Take that Taj Mahal.
~>Linking up at Budget Travelers Sandbox, Delicious Baby, and R We There Yet Mom?~
Beautiful photos, as always. Love the crypt picture! Cathedrals are such wonderful places to visit and this is definitely getting added to my "must visit if I ever make it back to England one day" list.
Great pics! I do agree with Mary: cathedral are always intersteing spots to visit as they mat reveal hidden treasures! For isrtance the crypt of Winchester Cathedral is superb! Nothing to say!
That second picture is breathtaking! I love how it shows the cathedral's ceiling. Beautiful!
Great photos
Lady, you take some AMAZING photos. That interior cathedral view is next to impossible for a lot of people to get. The crypt image is stunning. I love the water reflection. I know people get annoyed when things flood and they can't explore something fully, but to me it just creates this magical place. Kind of like when Venice floods. It's so pretty, at least the first day
Beautiful photos, Jessica! I have long wanted to visit Winchester Cathedral precisely because it is the burial place of Jane Austen.
Winchester Cathedral is such a gorgeous building and you have done it justice with your photos. I love the reflection in the crypt.
Nice shots, especially the one of the crypt. But now you've set that song, "Winchester Cathedral," playing endlessly in my head!
Just as a general rule…Cathedrals = Good, Crypts = Bad. It's Scooby Doo 101. You must know this!
On the other hand, Picture of Crypt = Beautiful.
I love the reflection the water creates in the crypt. I enjoy visiting cathedrals. Must get to see Winchester next time in England. Great pics.
I don't know why, but gothic churches really don't move me…
Nice photos, Jessica; especially liked the reflections in the crypt!
I haven't seen Winchester Cathedral, but I do like England's Norman churches. To think all that has taken places there during the centuries…
I love old churches.
I love cathedrals, and England has some of the best. The ceiling of this one is especially beautiful.
I actually enjoy these "unassuming destinations" – that is the quaint, charming, little-known places – better than the larger, more famous ones. Thanks for sharing this.
This is a stunning shot. No wonder it's spiking your traffic!