This superb 5-night and 6-day tour explores northern England’s cathedrals – the region’s most magnificent treasures. Starting at the World Heritage listed Durham Cathedral we visit some of the most beautiful and spectacular ecclesiastical buildings in the country – Ripon, York, Lincoln, Coventry, Chester and Liverpool among them. On our journey we learn about this rich heritage – both spiritual and temporal – as well as the remarkable human story behind these buildings. We will learn about skilled masons, carpenters, stained glass artists, quarrymen, architects and the wealthy patrons who supported these projects. And at Bishop Auckland Palace we encounter Durham’s Prince Bishops, the powerful ‘kings of the north’.

In the company of our expert historian, staying in comfortable hotels, enjoying first-class food and travelling by luxury coach, we have the added bonus of enjoying some of England’s most beautiful countryside.

Northern England’s cathedrals are a rich panoply of architectural styles and influences, from the solid Norman bastions of Durham, and the lofty Gothic towers of York and Lincoln, through to the bold modernist designs at Coventry and Liverpool. The first cathedral in England is thought to have been built in the late 4th century but the great age of the cathedral was between the 11th and 16th centuries.

The word ‘cathedral’ doesn’t just imply a very large church. It must specifically have a cathedra, the bishop’s chair that marks authority within the Church. This is manifested in sheer size (although not all cathedrals are huge) and craftsmanship. The cathedral builders were ordinary people, skilled craftsmen and businessmen alike. On this tour we examine how they set about the task, the logistics of setting up the site, finding materials and workers and how they lived. We will try to glimpse them at table and leisure, educating their children and reacting to disasters such as the Black Death. These people were like us, with all our stresses, sense of humour and intellect but they danced to a different beat, that of the Church.

Day 1 – Assemble at our Durham hotel midday to enjoy a buffet lunch and introductory talk. From here we proceed by foot to Palace Green, in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site, and admire the castle and buildings of the Cathedral Precinct. Entering the Cathedral we admire the imposing Romanesque nave, with the earliest surviving ribbed vaulting in the country, and tombs of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede. We also tour the Cathedral Museum and Sanctuary! Exhibition. Hotel in Durham – 1 night. (L, D).

Day 2 - drive to Auckland Palace where we step into the lives of Durham’s Prince Bishops, churchmen given exceptional powers by the Norman kings to govern the north. Here we admire the sumptuous private apartments, chapel and remarkable art collections. We drive to the twelfth-century Fountains Abbey, set up by monks weary of the worldliness of life in York, and once the richest Cistercian monastery in England. Our journey continues to the beautiful Ripon Cathedral with its Anglo-Saxon crypt dating from 672 AD. Hotel in York – 1 night. (B, D).

Day 3 – a full morning spent admiring the magnificent York Minster, centre of Christianity in the north of England since the seventh century. A consummate example of English Gothic architecture the Minster retains most of its medieval stained glass and a staggering confection of ribbed vaults, pointed arches and intricate tracery. Drive to Lincoln and our hotel for the night. (B, D).

Day 4 – the day starts with a tour of Lincoln Cathedral, described by John Ruskin as ‘…the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles…’ where we marvel over a mixture of architectural styles. We move on to Coventry and a visit to the ruins of the medieval cathedral destroyed in the 1940 Blitz. Entering the adjacent replacement designed by Sir Basil Spence, and opened in 1962, we learn about a city’s brave determination to carry on after this destruction and its message of transformation and hope. Drive to Warwick and our hotel for the night. (B, D).

Day 5 – we drive to Chester where we tour Chester Cathedral, originally part of a Benedictine Monastery, with rich architectural elements from the Norman to Perpendicular. Extensively restored in the nineteenth century the Cathedral is a suitable focus for discussion of Victorian ‘restoration’ and its controversies. Hotel in Chester – 1 night. (B, D).

Day 6 – driving from Chester to Liverpool we conclude the tour by visiting two of the country’s newest cathedrals. At the Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King we admire a bold 1960s circular construction built over the remains of the city’s earlier cathedral which can now be seen in the Lutyens’ Crypt. Then at the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral we marvel at the largest religious building in the country, built between 1904 and 1978. The tour ends at Liverpool Lime Street station at around 14.30 (from here there are train connections to London and other parts of the UK). (B).