The summer of 2015 marks one of the most significant events in English history, one whose echo has reverberated for eight centuries. You can depend on the English to not let an occasion like the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta pass unnoticed.

Sealed in 1215, the Magna Carta was the first charter limiting royal power and asserting the rights of subjects. King John didn’t sign willingly, but his fed-up barons left him no choice. Later, advisors to his son urged the young king to re-issue the Magna Carta, accounting for varying dates of existing copies. Although its legacy spans the world, the Magna Carta’s relevance is especially strong for Americans. It inspired basic concepts in the Mayflower Compact and Bill of Rights, becoming a powerful symbol of the rule of law.

Along with festivals and programs to mark the anniversary, England designated a series of Magna Carta Trails, leading through places of special significance in its story. These follow King John around the country, explore homes of barons who forced the king’s capitulation, highlight battlefields and sieges in the fight for Magna Carta and showcase the four surviving 1215 originals. One trail leads from London, where two originals are displayed at the British Library’s exhibition, “Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy,” to Windsor, where King John fixed his seal to it at Runnymede. Other trails lead to some of England’s greatest cathedrals.

Original documents were sent to each county for enforcement, and they were stored in cathedrals. Most disappeared over the centuries, but two still exist, and some of the summer’s major festivities take place in the cathedral cities of Lincoln and Salisbury, which display the documents. Lincoln’s lies in a stunning new underground vault at Lincoln Castle, introduced by state-of-the-art interpretive and interactive displays. A new wall walk along the castle ramparts celebrates its opening, and anniversary events are scheduled throughout 2015.

Salisbury Cathedral’s Magna Carta — in the best condition of the four surviving — sits in the soaring Chapter House, also introduced by new exhibits. July 15–19, the choirs of three great cathedrals join to perform at a festival inside magnificent Salisbury Cathedral; and Sept. 15–20, the Salisbury Cathedral Festival of Flowers celebrates the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta.

Durham Cathedral holds three editions of Magna Carta dated 1216, 1225 and 1300 that show its evolution; Durham University displays one of these through August in the exhibition “Magna Carta and the Changing Face of Revolt.”

Near Salisbury, Trowbridge offers a special Magna Carta exhibition all summer and the Medieval Charter Fayre July 24–26. Beginning in July, Worcester Cathedral, where King John is buried, hosts teas and tours exploring his life and times. Sept. 25–29, Cartmel Priory in Cumbria presents its Magna Carta Flower Pageant with concerts, a living history encampment, tournament and Medieval Fayre.

The list goes on. Even if you’re not there for any of the specific festivals, it’s a perfect excuse for visiting England’s great cathedrals this summer and celebrating their unique ties to the Magna Carta — and our own history.