Guided climb of the 211 steps in St Albans Cathedral's Norman crossing tower, through the Lantern and bell chambers to the rooftop.
St Albans Cathedral is opening up its Norman crossing tower for a series of tours this autumn and winter, with the next one on Wednesday 16 December. It's a climb of 211 steep, narrow steps, and you'll be going through parts of the building that are almost always seen only from below. The tower itself is the only great crossing tower from the 1000s still standing in England, and it was built using reused Roman brick, so you're ascending something that's been part of the city's skyline for nearly a millennium.
As you make your way up, you'll pass the Lantern, with its painted ceiling and medieval coats of arms, then a Victorian gantry above the Presbytery. Above that are the Bell Ringing Chamber and the Belfry, which houses the cathedral's thirteen new bells alongside eight old ones. The whole climb takes about an hour, and it ends on the roof, where you can look out over St Albans and, if the weather is on your side, see all the way towards London.
It's worth keeping a few things in mind before you book. The steps are steep and narrow, and the tour isn't suitable for anyone with significant mobility difficulties, vertigo, or claustrophobia. Children have to be 11 or over, and under-18s need to be accompanied by an adult. Dogs aren't permitted on the climb.
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Tickets are £15 standard and £12 for ages 11 to 18. On Wednesday 16 December, there are two slots: 11am and 12.30pm. If that date doesn't work, there are other tours running throughout November and December, with weekend slots on 7, 8, 21, and 22 November, and 5, 6, 19, and 20 December.
