Anyone mooching around these pages over any period of time will know that I love churches. Not religion, churches as buildings. They strike me as the epitome of beauty. No expense is spared to deliver delightful architecture because they are built for love not for money. Although they are, of course, functional, they have layers of beautiful things just because…

So, when DM and I decided to go on a rail trip to the city of Truro today for a rare and precious treat, the cathedral was one of our stops. It is magnificent. The approach to Truro station is on a viaduct across the valley so the train travels high above the rooftops and you get an exquisite view of the cathedral rising up above the rest of the city. When you are in the heart of the city on foot, it’s hard to ignore its presence as it towers over a city that’s no more than two stories tall really.

Many congratulations are due to the local church dignitaries who allow people into the cathedral free of charge. Once inside, its size is even more apparent if that’s not a strange thing to say. I’ve now been inside it three or four times and am still seeing things I’ve not seen before. There is a painting that we’ve admired today which is hard to describe but it shows the peninsula in relief and with every church marked and it’s simply stunning.

The photo of its organ and one of its rose windows is a pure indulgence because they are my favourite bits of the whole and as there is no way to take a photo of the whole, this is what you get! The curious thing about the cathedral is that to look at you’d think it’d been a part of the city for many hundreds of years but not so. In fact, it was started in the 19th century and completed in 1910. That, I’m sure, is in living memory for a few people alive today. This makes Truro cathedral a contemporary of the Sacre Coeur in Paris, which, contrary to instinct, was completed in 1914, having had an even longer build process, that took around forty years from planning to completion. It just goes to show that appearances can be deceptive and it gladdens my heart to think that there are buildings that people still wanted to lavish love and care on into the twentieth century.

I dare say there will be people crying but what about - insert the name of a contemporary building - at this juncture and I’m sure you’re all right – there are beautiful modern buildings but I’m equally convinced they are few and far between.