St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh
Oct. 25th, 2008 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhythmaningA couple of weeks ago, I went to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. I realised that I had never actually been inside Edinburgh’s Anglican Presbyterian cathedral, despite spending nearly twenty years of my life here, and whilst I seem to spend a lot of time visiting cathedrals in other cities, I really ought to make an effort to see the cathedral in my own.
There were two thoughts that immediately struck me. First, it was incredibly friendly: I was there quite early in the morning, and the information desk wasn’t open for me to buy a photo licence – the volunteer who was greeting people told me not to worry about it. (I paid later, when there was someone there.) Second, it was very dark, almost gloomy, inside. This meant my first impression was a little disappointed: it lacked the grandeur of other cathedrals I have visited.
But actually, once I started exploring, I found it fascinating. I watched the sun come up through stained glass, hunted around several small chapels and looked at the National Covenant.
These are some of the things I saw.
One of the side-chapels in the Thistle Chapel, set aside for the heraldic “Order of the Thistle”. Much of this is modern, although the antechamber, with its heavy carved bosses and gothic ceiling felt very old indeed.
Back in the body of the cathedral…
Next to the cathedral is Parliament Square, with its Georgian colonnade.
There were two thoughts that immediately struck me. First, it was incredibly friendly: I was there quite early in the morning, and the information desk wasn’t open for me to buy a photo licence – the volunteer who was greeting people told me not to worry about it. (I paid later, when there was someone there.) Second, it was very dark, almost gloomy, inside. This meant my first impression was a little disappointed: it lacked the grandeur of other cathedrals I have visited.
But actually, once I started exploring, I found it fascinating. I watched the sun come up through stained glass, hunted around several small chapels and looked at the National Covenant.
These are some of the things I saw.
One of the side-chapels in the Thistle Chapel, set aside for the heraldic “Order of the Thistle”. Much of this is modern, although the antechamber, with its heavy carved bosses and gothic ceiling felt very old indeed.
Back in the body of the cathedral…
Next to the cathedral is Parliament Square, with its Georgian colonnade.
