THE bid by Worcester Cathedral to host the Soyuz Spacecraft, in which Tim Peake travelled to the International Space Station, is an example of cathedrals’ being “bold and quirky”, the Dean, the Very Revd Peter Atkinson, said this week.

The cathedral has been shortlisted as one of five potential venues for the spacecraft, which is due to go on tour this year. If successful, the plan is to display it in the 12th- and 14th-century nave during August each year, when the “Discover Something Different” programme takes place. The “magnificent high soaring gothic architecture and an impressive Victorian marbled floor” would be a “superb backdrop”, a statement said.

“The theme in August is journeys, so it would absolutely fit with that,” Dean Atkinson said. “There is spiritual potential: we can start to talk about pilgrimage and Christian life as a journey.” He also hopes to hold talks on Christianity, science, and cosmology.