Whilst We're Discussing Religion

Chartres Cathedral, lit by floodlights as I first saw it in 1972 on a school trip to France aged 12. Whatever your religious views there is something deeply impressive, not only about the commitment in labour and spiritual terms, but the sheer scale of these buildings. Chartres is huge, I think it's the biggest medieval cathedral in Europe and that first glimpse across the fields at nearly midnight was truly inspiring.

We went back as a family about six years ago on the way home from a gite in Burgundy and it hadn't lost any of its magical appeal. To walk around the outside is impressive enough but to step inside its vastness makes you feel quite insubstantial as a person to begin with and then you realise that not only is it a religious centre and all that goes with it but it is a place where you can gather your thoughts, listen to a choir or just marvel at the stained glass windows.

The town of Chartres is also worth a visit, it has the only spiral underground car park I have ever been in, quite disconcerting to begin with, but architecturally a brilliant idea.

I may be an atheist but I find myself drawn to these monuments to Christianity without fail, perhaps I'm sub-consciously hoping to discover the reason why I'm a non-believer.