I recently embarked on a new venture, with the intention of crossing something off my “bucket list” and writing a book about it at the same time. I confess that I haven’t spent as much time on it as I had first intended.

I started to visit England’s cathedrals, some of which I had visited previously, but focusing on ones I hadn’t been to. This idea began during the COVID lockdown, when I visited Norwich Cathedral (the first cathedral I ever entered, way back when I was 10, during a school trip), Southwell Minster (not really a cathedral, but still stunning), Coventry Cathedral, St Alban’s Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, Peterborough Cathedral (it’s on my doorstep) and Ely Cathedral. I wasn’t able to enter any of them – the lockdown had closed Anglican churches and cathedrals, preventing people from even worshipping. Not that I’m religious, so that doesn’t really matter to me.

But since lockdown has ended, I’ve committed myself to visiting each and every cathedral in England (even the boring ones), and documenting my visits in a non-fiction book about English cathedrals. I haven’t got a title for the book yet, but then I haven’t visited many of the cathedrals on the list. Since lockdown, I’ve been inside Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester (all visited in one day), and Peterborough, Coventry, St Alban’s and Ely (accompanied by my friend, Nick). I shan’t bombard you with photos here, but it’s my intention that the book will feature lots of colour photos (all taken with my Google Pixel phone – my DSLR stayed at home).

What do I hope to achieve with this endeavour? Well, I’ll be throwing some history into the book, descriptions of the different architecture used, and my experience of each visit. Cathedrals are a working place of worship, and though it has been argued that the Church is extremely wealthy, it’s important to remember that it costs a lot to maintain such huge, sometimes ancient, buildings. And they are a spectacular part of the British countryside (I include the Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh cathedrals in that superlative).

When will this book be completed? Well, it’s progressing slowly. I’d like to cover Salisbury and Winchester in one trip, and I’m hoping Nick will come along for the ride. Lincoln is close enough to Peterborough, and sat atop a hill as it is, some glorious photographs of the cathedral can be had. Canterbury will need a long day trip, as will Durham. And I’m forgetting so many of the English cathedrals. But each will feature in the book.

So, watch this space, as always. And if you’re reading this blog post, and you have an idea for the title of the book, drop me a line. All suggestions taken seriously.

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