Pilgrims travelling to religious sites around the globe were some of the world’s first tourists and Gen Zs are following suit with an April YouGov survey showing a significant rise in churchgoing in the under-25s. Visiting one of Britain’s soaring cathedrals is a chance to switch off, admire some of the country’s best architecture, tap into a sense of community, listen to music (the acoustics are often superb) or even attend a service. Here are seven of our favourites.
1. St Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire
St David founded this monastery in Wales’s smallest cathedral city in the 6th century, making it one of the oldest religious sites in the UK. Treasures today include the 16th-century carved oak ceiling in the nave and a striking stained-glass window created by the William Morris Company (open daily, free; stdavidscathedral.org.uk). There are plenty of superb options for strolls nearby including the short Wales Coast Path to St Non’s Chapel, with a well thought to have healing properties. St Davids Cross Hotel has been a landmark for centuries; it now has 16 stylish bedrooms, with a popular bar and restaurant, and is also close to the medieval ruins of the Bishop’s Palace (£6.80; cadw.gov.wales).
Details B&B doubles from £135 (stdavidscrosshotel.co.uk)
2. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney
The sandstone St Magnus Cathedral — the oldest in Scotland — was founded by Viking invaders in 1137 (open daily, free; stmagnus.org). The hub of the Orkneys, Kirkwall sees ferries travelling to the outer islands, including the neolithic remains at Rousay, while boat trips also visit the shipwrecks at Scapa Flow. The Kirkwall Hotel, a quick stroll from St Magnus, has 37 comfortable rooms that nearly all look out on to the harbour.
Details B&B doubles from £133 (kirkwallhotel.com)
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3. Canterbury Cathedral, Kent
Founded in AD597, this cathedral is enshrined in literary as well as religious history, as the destination for the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Each July the city’s annual Medieval Pageant brings Canterbury’s history alive with a trail featuring costumes and references to Chaucer. Inside the cathedral itself you can see where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 along with the tomb of Henry IV and his wife, Joan of Navarre, all surrounded by Britain’s most beautiful collection of Norman ecclesiastical architecture (open daily, £18; canterbury-cathedral.org). Built in the grounds, Cathedral Lodge has 34 snug rooms and guests get free entry to the cathedral as well as access to its gardens before they open to the public.
Details B&B doubles from £115 (canterburycathedrallodge.org)
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4. Durham Cathedral, Co Durham
Dominating this city in the northeast, Durham Cathedral has a history that stretches back to AD995 (open daily, free; durhamcathedral.co.uk). This July, for the first time in eight years, all three copies of Magna Carta held here will be on display, but you’ll also be able to see the cloisters where Ron Weasley vomited slugs and Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration in the Harry Potter films. On the other side of the River Wear, the very glam 40 Winks guesthouse has rooms with views of the cathedral, and a luxurious, gilded ambience that would have appealed to some of the most worldly past Durham bishops.
Details Room-only doubles from £170 (40winkshospitality.co.uk)
5. Arundel Cathedral, West Sussex
Thanks to the staunchly Catholic Dukes of Norfolk, Arundel’s cathedral, consecrated in 1873, is one of the largest and most beautiful Catholic cathedrals in Britain (open daily, free; arundelcathedral.uk). It’s surrounded by streets stuffed with independent shops and restaurants, plus there are also paths by the River Arun to wander (open daily, free; arundelcathedral.uk). Arundel Castle, where the Howard family still lives, has paintings by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and Canaletto and 38 acres of gardens famous for their roses (£16; arundelcastle.org). Close to both, the Norfolk Arms has evolved from a Georgian coaching inn into a 39-room hotel with its own craft pub serving Sussex beer and wine.
Details Room-only doubles from £90 (norfolkarmsarundel.com)
6. Norwich Cathedral, Norfolk
Surrounded by some the city’s oldest and most beautiful houses, woven through with public gardens and a path that leads to the River Wensum, Norwich Cathedral has Britain’s only surviving medieval altarpiece as well as a font made from two copper bowls that were once used to make toffee at Norwich’s former Rowntree Mackintosh factory (open daily, free; cathedral.org.uk). A range of organ and orchestra concerts by candlelight take place here throughout the year. Parts of the Maids Head Hotel, next door to the cathedral, date from the 15th century, but the foundations are much older; Norwich’s first bishop’s palace was built here in the 11th century (open daily, free; cathedral.org.uk).
Details Room-only doubles from £117 (maidsheadhotel.co.uk)
7. Wells Cathedral, Somerset
While most cathedrals have a strong music tradition, this small Somerset city shows off its own specialist music school; there are both boy and girl choirs who perform with adult choral scholars as well as weekly lunchtime organ recitals open to the public. It’s often considered to be the most beautiful English cathedral, with its gothic architecture dating from 1175. Tours take in the West Front façade with its 300 medieval sculptures, the 14th-century stained-glass Jesse Window and a Romano-British burial chamber (open daily, £15; wellscathedral.org.uk). Pilgrims and travellers have been seeking succour at the Swan Hotel, a three-minute walk away with an excellent restaurant, since 1492.
Details B&B doubles from £140 (swanhotelwells.co.uk)
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Where else do you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below
