Above our heads are masses of white birds, some moving slightly as if on a light breeze, while gentle music envelopes us as we watch.
They're made of paper and there are 14,000-15,000 of them, each carrying a hand-written wish, suspended as if in flight over our heads. Then, changing colour lights cast them as a flock of blue birds, then pink.
This is Peace Doves, a new installation - the result of a mass-participation art project - now hanging inside Durham Cathedral and the effect, combined with the music, is mesmerising. It opens to visitors this Friday and will be available to view until September, promising an immersive experience which will vary with the time of day.
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Our visit was in the quiet calm of evening, but the cathedral is atmospheric at any time, and there will opportunities for viewers to visit after-hours too, with night-time tickets available to book on selected dates. And, for those who really want to treat themselves, there is to be a chance to dine there too, with the doves providing a stunning backdrop.
All ages, including school, community and church groups and worldwide visitors, have been making the birds - shaped from paper templates - since April and the personal hand-written messages they bear are all about hope, love and peace. The artist behind it is Peter Walker, the artistic director of sound and light show spectacular Luxmuralis which made its debut inside the cathedral in 2022, with music composed by David Harper who has specially written the soundscape for this too.
Peter, also a bronze sculptor, first came up with the concept of Peace Doves in 2018, with Lichfield Cathedral hosting the first project, and since then he has found something different with each. People's messages tend to vary depending upon what is happening in the world at the time and it's been different in Durham, he says, with many relating to family too.
He was particularly affected by one boy who wrote that he hopes that his dad is happy in heaven. A team of three, Peter included, spent three days hanging the birds from the high ceiling of the nave: you get into a rhythm, he says.
Each of the messages has been read by someone, either from the artist team or the cathedral staff. In light of what is happening in the likes of the Ukraine and Gaza, many wishes are for peace. Cost of living concerns, and football, tend to feature in all Peace Doves projects while, among the personal prayers, more unusual messages here include lyrics from The Beatles and Taylor Swift, which clearly struck a chord with their writers.
In the cathedral Cloister we read information boards which feature some of those who took part and explain their messages. The project was also opened up to the cathedral's online community - which was first set up during lockdown - whose messages were then transcribed onto birds by staff who added them to the growing flock.
Other birds were created in its own Galilee Chapel, where craft tables were set up so that visitors, who come to Durham from across the world, could take part too. The result is a real sense of people coming together and a connection that shows that most of us tend to hope for the same things.
It's a lovely project and the fact that the birds all bear positive messages is uplifting too. Peace Doves can be seen at Durham Cathedral until September 4.
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