It may seem unusual, but a 55 ft colourful slide has been installed inside the nave of Norwich Cathedral in England, as part of a project called Seeing It Differently. It took four people two days to build the fairground ride in the Norman cathedral, which dates back to 1145. The helter-skelter belongs to Irvin Leisure, and is made up of more than 1000 parts and decorated with just over 2000 lights.

A colourful helter-skelter slide has been installed inside the nave of a British cathedral. Image: Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images

The helter-skelter aims to give people the chance to experience the cathedral in an entirely new way and open up conversations about faith. Visitors climbing up to have a go on the slide get to enjoy unique views of the centuries-old Norwich building and its 1000 medieval roof bosses, which tell stories from the Bible and form the largest collection of their kind in the world. The nave features 255 of these historiated bosses, depicting seven Old Testament episodes and seven New Testament episodes.

Visitors on the ride get to enjoy unique views of the centuries-old Norwich building. Image: Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images

Seeing It Differently was the idea of the Reverend Canon Andy Bryant, canon for mission and pastoral care at Norwich Cathedral. "The helter-skelter is an opportunity for some holiday fun, but we also hope it will help our visitors get closer to our wonderful medieval roof bosses, which are one of the true gems of the cathedral and our fine city," he says. "Along with experiencing all the other Seeing It Differently installations, we hope that climbing 40 feet above the nave’s floor on the helter-skelter will help people gain a new perspective on this ancient building, and also appreciate the importance of seeing things differently; this building, ourselves and our faith.”

The slide is one of a number of special installations dotted around the Cathedral. Image: James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

The slide is one of a number of special installations dotted around the cathedral, and visitors can also take part in a trust trail in the cloisters, or sit inside a Bible box and be completely surrounded by the religious words. The ride costs £2 (€2.15) per person and it will remain in the cathedral until August 18. General opening times will be 10am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday and 12 noon to 3pm on Sundays.