England’s best views: Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire

Simon Jenkins chooses Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows as one of his favourite views

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England's best views Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire from the Meadows 

‘The view of Salisbury from across the Avon water meadows is a perennial favourite. Its celebrity rests on John Constable and his 300 versions of Salisbury. His most finished masterpiece of the scene, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, was painted at the height of his powers in 1831. The viewpoint is unmistakable today.

There may now be no horses in the stream and the Crane Street car park is too close. But sheep make a suitable substitute for horses. The cathedral steeple is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. On my last visit to Salisbury, blustery clouds were forming behind the darkened steeple. 

Suddenly, the sun broke from the clouds behind me, raced past me across the meadow. Finally, it caught the cathedral and set the steeple ablaze. I wished for Constable at my side ' 

Extracted from ‘England's 100 Best Views' by Simon Jenkins, to be published by Profile books in October 2013 (£25 hardback) 

Country Life
Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

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