Dear Listers Some years ago I decided that, since I seemed to have visited more foreign cathedrals than those in the UK, I should remedy this. In tandem, since I also enjoy going horse racing and had noticed that many courses are situated fairly close to cathedrals and/or minsters, we could combine the two in a tour of England, first of all. I had a list of cathedrals and a few other places that I wanted to visit and so suggested it to my husband who agreed. I got out the map and a list of race meetings and worked out a route. We booked into B & Bs along our way. My question then and now is why do so many cathedrals have race courses nearby and the converse, why have so many race courses established themselves close to cathedrals? Can anyone help with this puzzle of mine? I would recommend the tour by the way. We set off from home on the edge of the High Peak, travelled down the middle of the country to the south coast, turned left and travelled a short direction almost due east and then back along the east side of the country as far as Beverley Minster and race course. We didn't visit many cathedrals where there were no race meetings at the nearby race courses and so didn't take in York but we did go to one or two cathedrals where there were no meetings nearby because of a particular interest in the cathedral. So, if anyone knows the reason why race courses and cathedrals are often so closely situated, I should be very pleased to hear your explanation. Audrey