The Cloisters were one of the later additions to the cathedral and were finished around 1284; Salisbury Cathedral propaganda touts them as the largest cloisters in Britain. I'm no cloisters expert, but they did seem to be a good size. I noticed that the stone ceilings were vaulted just as those inside the cathedral; these were just a bit closer and a bit less baroque. Splendidly designed archways opened up to the large courtyard. One side of the cloisters was partially taken up by seats for the Refectory Cafe.
I quickly found the entrance to the courtyard, which was right in front of the doors to the Chapel House, my next destination. A sign stood on the grass, warning people that this was a courtyard within a cloisters that contained quite a few graves and was to be respected as such. I did tread slightly lighter after that...not that I was stomping to begin with, as my nom de plume may imply.
The courtyard is dominated by a few large trees, which shaded the opposite side of the cloisters and the small shrubs that squatted next to the cloister walls. I appreciated the arches of the walls even more from this viewpoint. A larger arch had a flower-like design carved out of it, and underneath, two smaller arches met with a cross between them. I know, this may be somewhat hard to envision, but it's also hard to describe. Perhaps I should just say it was beautiful, completely symmetric stonework that can be seen in this entry's pictures.
Standing in the center of the courtyard, I could look up and see the cathedral's spire reaching up and getting in the way of any passing airplanes. This was the best view I got of the spire all day, mainly because the entire other side--the side you see when walking up from Cathedral Close towards the fantastic West Front--was being restored/strengthened. Unfortunately, the sky was still ashen, although I was lucky--I was standing only semi-covered by the courtyard's trees and wasn't getting soaked!
From journal Historic Villages and Cathedrals of Wiltshire