Above the vaulted ceiling: Truro Cathedral’s roof tour

Look up at the vaulting inside Truro Cathedral and it seems fixed and solid, the kind of ceiling nobody thinks to question. Climb the spiral stairways hidden behind it and that idea falls apart completely. Above the stone is a world of timber walkways, roof voids and towers that most visitors never know exists, and for a handful of Saturdays a year the cathedral opens it up as one of Truro‘s more unusual days out.

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What’s actually up there

A guide leads each group up an enclosed spiral staircase, more than 200 steps in total, narrowing to just 48cm wide as it climbs. At the top, a short corridor barely wider than a doorway opens onto a wooden gangway through the Western roof void, complete with handrails for the walk across.

From there the tour passes through two more roof voids before arriving above the Crossing, the point where the cathedral’s transepts meet the main body of the building. Look down from here and the floor and the Quire, the ornate mosaic-tiled heart of the cathedral, spread out beneath you. A balcony area lets visitors look over and through the space above the Crossing, before the group moves on to explore the rest of the roof spaces at the 80ft level.

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Getting a ticket

Truro Cathedral has a few places left on this Saturday’s tours, running on 29 August between 10am and 12.15pm across three slots. Tickets cost £15.50 per person and can be booked online. Each tour takes a maximum of ten people, led by a guide with a safety steward alongside them throughout.

There’s no charge to visit the cathedral itself, and Truro Cathedral says every penny raised through the roof tours goes towards the care and upkeep of the building.

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What to know before you go

The safety notes are worth reading properly before booking. The tour isn’t suitable for anyone with a condition or difficulty arising from exertion, or any mobility difficulty, and it isn’t open to under 11s, with under 18s needing to be accompanied by an adult throughout.

Flat, sensible footwear is essential, and safety helmets are provided for the areas with low ceilings. Cables and other trip hazards on the floor will be pointed out by the stewards as you go, and because of the dust that settles on surfaces up there, visitors are encouraged to wear gloves or wash their hands once the tour is over.

Arrive at the Welcome Desk ten minutes before your slot to complete a waiver, and if anyone finds they can’t continue partway through, a steward will accompany them back down to ground level.

📷Credit: Love_cornwall

📷Credit: Love_cornwall