Which day would be best to visit the Salisbury Cathedral to avoid crowds - Friday 15 November, Saturday 16 November or Monday 18 November? There's a library tour on Friday - is that worthwhile?
Would it make sense to visit Winchester Cathedral the same day?
We would be driving from London, so traffic is a consideration.
Salisbury Cathedral library is fantastic. But the most famous "book" it has, arguably the most famous script in the Anglosphere, is Magna Carta, which you can see on the other days.
All things being equal, I’d avoid going on the Saturday as both towns will be busy with shopping traffic and parking will be harder to find. I’m sure you can do both in one day, but remember it gets dark by about 4.30 pm in November, so you’ll be driving back to London in the dark. There would be heavy traffic at rush hour too, particularly once you get near the London orbital road, the M25.. you might find it pleasanter to stay overnight, and then you could fit in a visit to Stonehenge too, and take your time getting back to
London.
This is deep off season, so the day of the week will make little difference, and neither cathedral is going to be particularly crowded.
If these are day trips from London, then the train would be the far better solution for either city. Driving only makes sense if you are on your way somewhere else.
You need to check both websites closer to the time for any events happening which cause closures to the Cathedral for all or part of a day.
Both cities have extensive park and ride facilities to keep traffic out of the centre.
Also
During 2024 improvements are being made to the approach to the city around the Railway Station and Fisherton Street area. This includes temporary road diversions which may mean heavier than usual levels of traffic in the city centre at some times of the day.
Both cathedrals are awesome. The one in Salisbury reminds me of the novel by Ken Follett. Winchester, of course, the song.
York and Durham in the north are probably my favorites.
We spend 2-3 hours in each.
If I'm understanding correctly, the cathedrals are unlikely to be crowded any of those days, but traffic is heavier returning on a weekday.
Seems Winchester Cathedral is closed that Saturday, so if we wanted to do both it would have to be Friday.
For unrelated reasons, we have use of a car and driver for the day, so parking is not a major concern.
If possible, add evensong at one of them to your list. It can vary day to day, but I think I liked Winchester better than Salisbury evensong.
If you go on 15 November then you could end the day with the Viennese Christmas Spectacular Concert- https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/event/london-concertante-viennese-waltzes-by-candlelight/
