A few days ago I received an email from a competition I had entered saying I had won a pair of tickets to go on a tour of the Cathedral bell tower, I was really pleased and hoped it would be during the week so hubby could come as well. Then I got another email from the gentleman who would be doing the tour stating it was today - 1pm or 2pm. This was too short notice to get someone to look after the boys so hubby said he would stay with them and I could go on my own. So I emailed asking to go on 1pm tour due to train times.
The train to Carlisle was mad - a very loud hen party that started drinking on the train, a stag do that were equally loud, a group of teenage girls with 3" thick make up and heels of the same height they could only just walk in and loads of football fans heading to the match. The train filled up and there was about 15-20 people standing in the aisle it was that busy and the noise was going right through my head. I don't know how anyone could hear their own conversations. I was so glad to get off the train!!!
I was in Carlisle over an hour earlier but the next train wouldn't have got me there on time. So I went and grabbed some lunch from Tesco, and once I had eaten it (whilst walking through the town) I made my way to the Cathedral. I paid the lady so that I could take photos and went on my way around it as I had 45minutes until the start of the tour. I took loads of pics of the inside downstairs, here are some of them:
I headed back to the main entrance to wait for the people doing the tour of the bell tower, at the time I was the only person there. They said we had to wait a few minutes. The only other person to turn up was the local news reporter/photographer! So I have ended up with lots of pics being taken on the tour and am going to be in the paper.
The 3 people doing the tour were all from the Cathedral Bell Ringers, they explained things as went including a big plaque on the wall after one of the old clergy who left money to the Cathedral but on the condition that the bells are rung on his birthday!
After posing for a few pics for the paper we went through the little door at the back of the Cathedral and down a little corridor to the spiral stair case - some were steep, others not so, some were big others small, there was over 120 in total to get the bell room. I took a picture of them as I was coming down after the tour:
The spiral stairs are broken up by a long narrow corridor that runs about half way up the Cathedral, the next pic shows the same corridor over the other side of the Cathedral. Again there were more posed pics for the paper including some of me taking photos. I remember doing this type of thing with my friends at school - didn't realise it was something that professionals did as well.
I actually like the pic alot as it doesn't have the whole of the window or the wall in it. I took a few others from up on this corridor as well.
From the corridor we went up even more spiral stairs and went round the edge of the whole tower, some lovely views. We then went into the ringing room, where all the bell cords hang. They explained what they were and they worked, and showed me how they do it (they were using the bell sensors via the computer so as not to actually ring the bells. The photographer asked for a pic of me posing pulling the bell. I so wish I hadn't been ill as i'm sure I am going to look like death warmed up the pics, oh well not much I can do now. lol!
We then continued the tour and went up to the bells, where they talked to me about them all, and the real old one in the corner called Maria that has been there since the 1400s. I have to say that the bells are much bigger than I thought they would be I did think they would be big but not as big as they are. They had 1 of the team ring one of the bells so I could see how it all works from upstairs - although it didn't "ring" as it had its safety buffer thing in (they did tell me the name but I can't remember).
I had a really nice time and it was very interesting, and not something that many members of the public actually get to see. Thanks to Cumbria Live for hosting the competition and picking me as 1 of the winners.
