Cathedral Church of St Peter

Magnificent in warm, honey-coloured stone, Exeter's Cathedral Church of St Peter is framed by lawns and wonky half-timbered buildings - a quintessentially English scene often peopled by picnickers snacking to the sound of the bells.

The site's been a religious one since at least the 5th century but the Normans started the current building in 1114 and the towers of today's cathedral date from that period. In 1270 Bishop Bronescombe remodelled the whole building, a process that took 90 years, and introduced a mix of Early English and Decorated Gothic styles. You enter via the gorgeous Great West Front. Above the door, scores of weather-worn figures line an image screen, which was originally brightly painted. Now it forms the largest collection of 14th-century sculpture in England. Inside, the ceiling is mesmerising - the longest unbroken Gothic vaulting in the world, it sweeps up to meet ornate ceiling bosses in gilt and vibrant colours. Look out for the 15th-century Exeter Clock, in the north transept. In keeping with medieval astronomy this shows the earth as a golden ball at the centre of the universe, with the sun, a fleur-de-lys, travelling round. Still ticking and whirring, it chimes on the hour. Further down, hunt out the tiny St James Chapel, built to replace the one destroyed in the Blitz in 1942. Note its unusual carvings: a cat, a mouse and, oddly, a rugby player. Excellent 45-minute free guided tours also run.