Westminster
Abbey is one of the iconic places in London. Fortunately,
the Abbey is right next to Big Ben and the Parliament building.
The photos below are what we saw.
When we
arrived at the Westminster tube station, it was a
madhouse. It was very crowded and people we milling about.
I was not expecting a protest but at this point it was just a
sign. Things would heat up a bit later in the
afternoon. We bypassed these folks and went our own way.
By happenstance, we
were next to Big Ben at straight-up noon so we got to hear the
chimes.
Big Ben
is at one end of the Parliament building and the main tower on
the other. The building is heavily patrolled and security
is tight.
Kathleen
was happy for a sunny day that required sun glasses.
A
portion of the exterior of Westminster Abbey was under
restoration. This is a really big cathedral and it is
truly imposing. While we had been here before in 2005, I
don't recall the no-photos restriction. But, in the end it
was likely a good thing as there were so many people wandering around
that chaos would have reigned. The scope and details of
the interior monuments and chapels are awe inspiring and are
almost beyond words.
They
were less concerned about photos outside. This is an
interior yard by the cloisters.
The Chapter
House was one of the areas had stained glass that we could
photo. These panels are mostly descriptive rather than
religious. The chapter house was used as public records
storage from 1547 through 1863. The domestic copy of the
Magna Charta was stored here.
This set
of windows were dedicated to pilots killed in the Battle of
Britain. The bottom left two panels states that the
original glass was blown out by a German bomb in 1941 and what
remained was reset in 1950. The whole chapter house was
cleaned and restored thereafter. The bottom right panel
states "Of the craftsmen it may be said that that in the
handiwork of their craft is their prayer".
The chapter house had
some extremely intricate carvings.
The
walls of the chapter house had old paintings representing
religious events. These were cleaned and restored after
WWII.
From the
chapter house passageway we could see the south side of the
abbey. The different color stone indicates what was
restored or cleaned.
The
construction is classic Gothic style complete with flying
buttresses to support the tall walls.
From the
courtyard we got a glimpse of the upper portions of the
Parliament Tower. The detailed carvings on the upper
portion of the tower are truly amazing.
This
monument is on the west end of the abbey and also has highly
detailed carvings.
The
front of the abbey had a number of very intricate carvings.
Leaving
the abbey, we walked past a portion of the Parliament building
giving us a better view of the main tower. The cast iron
fence around the perimeter is substantial.
Big Ben
and Parliament building as seen from the south bank of the River
Thames. Westminster Bridge is on the right.
While we
were in the abbey, the main focus of the protest had been
co-opted from "support for Syria" to "Occupy Democracy".
The signs stated "Reclaim Democracy from the Fossil Fools",
"People and Planet not Peers and Profit", and "Only
Justice through Sharing will bring Peace". The police were
there in force and had several trucks full of officers held back
until the trouble develops. There were more cops and
photographers than protesters.
I
spotted this classic MG. The driver was old enough to be
the original owner, but I did not get a chance to speak with
him.
We
walked over the Thames River via Westminster Bridge and got a
clear view of the London Eye, our next destination.
We paid
an extra fee for Fast Track tickets that take you to the front
of the line. We were glad that we did; it was worth the
extra fee. We were preparing to board our capsule and we
got good views of the architecture and engineering support
equipment required to keep this beast running.
Charing Cross Station comes into view..
Near the top of the
cycle we got a nice clear view of London to the east.
While the reduced detail in the photo above does not show
them, there were large numbers of cranes at work on
construction projects.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2015, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.