----- Original Message ----- From: "A Lee" <alee231@btinternet.com> To: <OLD-ENGLISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 10:22 AM > 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 >