Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral stands at the heart of the ancient Hampshire capital, a vast Norman and Gothic church that is one of the longest medieval cathedrals in Europe. The present building was begun in 1079 under Bishop Walkelin, replacing the Anglo-Saxon Old Minster whose foundations are marked out in the grass alongside. Successive bishops remodelled the cathedral over the following centuries, leaving a remarkable mix of stout Romanesque transepts and soaring Perpendicular nave under one roof.

Inside, visitors will find the longest medieval nave in Europe, the elaborate chantry chapels of bishops including William of Wykeham and Henry of Beaufort, and a set of mortuary chests said to contain the bones of pre-Conquest kings of Wessex and England, including Cnut. The 12th-century Winchester Bible, one of the finest illuminated manuscripts of the Romanesque period, is displayed in the Kings and Scribes exhibition. The novelist Jane Austen is buried in the north aisle, her grave a major draw for literary visitors.

The cathedral is famous, too, for the story of William Walker, the diver who worked underwater between 1906 and 1911 to shore up the foundations and save the east end from collapse. Tower tours climb above the roofs for views across the city and the Itchen valley, and the close, gardens and nearby ruins of Wolvesey Castle add to a full afternoon's visit.