St Giles' Cathedral

This guide to St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh follows tree-ring specialist Coralie Mills into the roof space above the cathedral's famous crown spire, checking a story that had stood for centuries: that mason John Mylne rebuilt the crown in 1648. You'll hear how she counted growth rings in the oak beams and matched them against Scotland's tree-ring record, and how the timber's origin in Darnaway Forest complicated the accepted history. It traces what her count revealed about how old the crown above you actually is.