Visual Story booklet

St Albans Cathedral Visual Story for Guided Visits

This is St Albans Cathedral. It is a church and everyone is welcome.

My bus will arrive here. It is next to a noisy main road and there are lots of cars. I will listen to my teacher’s instructions to stay safe here.

I will follow my teacher to the Welcome Centre. It is a short walk. There is a shop here and a café. I might smell food from the café.

The volunteers at the Welcome Desk are here to help visitors. My teacher will let them know that we are here.

I will go with my class to the Offa Room. Here I will hang up my coat and packed lunch. I will come back to this room at the end of the day to collect my things.

My teacher might take me to the toilets near the Offa Room. These have hand-driers which can be noisy.

I will enter the church through an old doorway.

I will see the large, brightly coloured Rose window.

This part of the church is called the Crossing. There is a lot to look at from this central point: beautiful stained glass, stone statues and patterned tiles.

This is part of the church is called the Quire, this is where the choir sing.

There are two stone shrines at the Cathedral. These shrines are special places, and hold important things.

This is the Lady Chapel, which is like a small church at the very end of the Cathedral.

This is the Nave, the big open part of the Cathedral.

Things you might hear:

I might hear the organ playing music.

I might hear the bells ring to tell the time.

I might hear a priest say a prayer.

Things you might see:

There are lots of steps and uneven stones on the floor. I will look where I’m going so that I do not trip.

Things you might see:

There are many candles that people light to pray. I will not touch them so that I do not burn myself.

I will go with my class to the Offa Room. Here I will eat my lunch before our afternoon activity.

My teacher might take me to the toilets near the Offa Room. These have hand-driers which can be noisy.

In the summer if it is a warm day we can go outside to eat lunch.

I might go to the Alban room to do a craft activity. To get there we will need to go up some stairs.

I might get my hands dirty doing this activity. There are sinks in this room where I can wash my hands.

These are some of the adults you may see when you come for your school trip.

You might see an adult dressed up as an historical character too!

These are some other adults you may see when you come for your school trip.

We hope that you have enjoyed your visit to the Cathedral!

If you would like more information please go to www.stalbanscathedral.org/schools