England 5: Wednesday in London; Westminster Abbey
A day which was not very dramatic at all for me and Kim, happily, but was quite dramatic for Baker B. Well, London was not dramatic for Baker B, as he was in Devizes, but he had a harrowing evening in Devizes. We didn’t find out about it until our day was nearly over, so I’ll be chronological. And start with our very pleasant day in London. Whereupon we just had fun and toured around and didn’t experience any mishaps at all. For a change.
We started with Westminster Abbey. I’d really wanted to go to Westminster Abbey on our last trip, but it wasn’t part of the London Pass then and we were trying not to do things we had to pay extra for. It’s been added, though, so this time we went. And it is SO worth it. It would have been worth paying extra, actually. It is amazing. It’s one of those places that just takes your breath away. I’m not sure how long we were there, but it was hours. Sadly you can’t take photos inside, except for the Cloisters. So I have lots of photos of the outside and of the Cloisters, but nothing inside. We took an audio tour, which was very interesting. I think my favorite part was the Poets’ Corner, which was packed with grave markers and monuments to poets and writers. Chaucer (actually buried there), Shakespeare (monument), Tennyson, Browning, Dickens, Kipling, (all buried), Jane Austin, the Brontes, Milton, Wordsworth, Shelley, (monuments)… oh, I could go on and on. It was torture not being able to take photos! There are tombs and shrines all over the Abbey, and you walk over top of an enormous number of them, which is a little unsettling. There are over 3000 people buried there. And of course it’s also been the site of many coronations and royal weddings (including the most recent one) in the past 700 years or so.
It’s massive, and impossible to really capture in a photo:
A bit of the inside:
I’m not sure who George Walsh was, but there were memorials all through this area. Well, all through EVERY area, but this one allowed photography.
Mostly illegible marker for a grave in the floor:
Britain’s oldest door!
Floor tiles:
On the outside after you exit through the gift shop:
WELL, for a place I whined so about not being able to take pictures of, I certainly took a lot of pictures. And since it is now one in the morning, I will save Part 2 for tomorrow. Or, Part Whatever It Is By Now.
This is wonderful. You’ve taken photos e.g. of he brickwork up to that wonderful arch if that’s what its called, and the tiles n the floor and the only-just-visible tombstone … gasp .. that’s I’d have taken. Thank you very much!
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ANd I’m struck by the bottom photo – is there a book, I wonder, to tell who those people are? To think that would have been known when the thing was built, and ordinary folk probably don’t know now.
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My goodness, the scale and beauty of it all is breath-taking. I’m awaiting to hear what kind of drama Baker B got involved in.
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Thank you for sharing your photos. When I look at them, I think about how all of that was built without benefit of modern tools, cranes, etc. Have you read “Pillars of the Earth” by Follett?
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I love encaustic tiles! Some cathedrals can take days to look through. We had that experience in Durham. It is quite weird to be in a building older than your country! And do tell what happened in Devizes. I sincerely hope it didn’t involve “ears of different sizes” which is my one and only association with that town.
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PS: I hated the “walking on graves” aspect of it. Would be so unthinkable where I come from.
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Wowie Zowie, what a beaut of a bunch of photos! No wonder Winchester Cathedral has its own song and all… it’s so imposing in both its immense size and and incredible architectural detail! Waaaa, I wanna go there NOW! *Ahem* sorry. Anyway, it’s really enlightening to hear about how much time you allocated to touring the cathedral. You are really giving Rick Steves a run for his money, here! Although to be fair, he does do a great job on restaurant eating. Any ideas of posting about what and where you all ate? I’d love to hear. 🙂 Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your travel experience!
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From the Westminster Abbey Google page: “In the east cloister of Westminster Abbey is a marble tablet to General George Walsh. The inscription reads: “Near this place are deposited the remains of George Walsh, Esq. late Lieutenant General of His Majesties Forces and Colonel of the 49th Regiment of Foot who died October the 23rd 1761 aged 73. The toils of life and pangs of death are o’er and care and pain and sickness are no more” He was a son of Richard Walsh of Louth in Ireland and his wife Mary (Bury) and had a long military career. He died unmarried and left his estate to his brother Anthony Walsh of Ardagh and his nephews Captains Anthony and Ralph Walsh. A photo of the tablet can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library.” I get curious about things like this and even when I’m driving or riding and see something like this, I’ll make a note and Google it when I get to a computer. LOVELY place and great pictures.
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These are wonderful pics; just wish you could have shared the inside of the place with us.
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These pictures are amazing.
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Gorgeous.
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ryn “There once was a man of Devizes Whose ears were of different sizes The one that was small Was of no use at all But the other won several prizes.” Don’t ask me the source, I’ve known it since my limerick-obsessed teens.
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The oldest door one made me laugh. Thanks for that. And for all of these.
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