Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire. Said cathedral was built between 1220 and 1258 and has the highest church spire in the UK, standing at 123m (404 feet). It also boasts the largest cloister and cathedral close in Britain, and holds one of the four remaining Magna Cartas! The author Sir William Golding whose book Lord of the Flies is probably his best-known work, was a teacher at a school in the city, and his novel The Spire is thought to be based on the cathedral. Salisbury is very picturesque and one of our favourite cities within driving distance. The Waterstones is located in a large attractive building which was an Assembly Room between 1802 and 1960. It became a W H Smith (as evidenced by the weather vane on the clocktower atop the building, pictured below). Ottaker’s book shop moved into the building in 1989 and were eventually taken over by Waterstones.
Salisbury Cathedral
Below – clockwise from top left
[1] Former Conservative Prime Minister Edward ‘Ted’ Heath’s house and [2] the plaque outside. [3] Blue Plaque to Sir William Golding, and [4] Bishop Wordsworth’s School, where he taught.
Below – left to right
[1] Blue Plaque to Dr Andrew Bogle Middleton, credited with eliminating Cholera from the city. [2] Harnham Bridge, one of three medieval bridges in the city. [3] High Street Gate – this is the main entry to cathedral close. It’s locked every night between 11pm and 6am the following morning.
The photo of the WHS Weather Vane above (far right) is used under the creative commons licence, and was originally taken by Chris Downer. I have resized it slightly. Photo © Chris Downer (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Janet's Adventures in Waterstones 