Westminster Abbey, UK
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Our flight arrived at Heathrow very early this morning, so after a train trip into St Pancras Station at King's Cross we located our hotel, The Montana Excel and dropped our luggage.
Then we were ready to explore so we used our Oyster cards on the Underground and went to visit Westminster Abbey. What a great place. We could take no photos inside but to be honest
be able to use the audio guides was better as the history and explanations were fantastic! The view from the entry Nave is just awesome and we couldn't wait to get started.
It is incredible to think that most British Monarchs have had their Coronation, marriage and burial here since 1066.
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The outside of the Abbey is built of stone with stained glass windows and has had additions in the form of towers over the centuries.
The Abbey as it now stands is in the shape of a Latin cross, and is 511 ft. long by 203 wide across the transepts. There are many vaults and statues here
dedicated to Kings and Queens over the ages, and one of the most spectacular areas we visited was The Lady Chapel. The roof is a fan shape and is reputedly one of the last masterpieces
of medieval architecture. The size alone is breathtaking and to go along with this are statues of 95 Saints. The tomb of King Henry V11 and Queen Elizabeth of York is behind the altar.
Moving on there is Poets' Corner with famous people such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy buried here as well as many others. Further around there is Scientists' Corner with the tombs of
Charles Darwin and Thomas Telford. Writers also have their resting place in the Abbey and Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling are among those as well. Other famous
people throughout history are also recognised by images or statues here for their contribution to history.
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Leaving the Abbey, we walked over to The houses of Parliament, where Big Ben resides and marvelled at the actual size of the building. The afternoon was very overcast
and it was getting quite late but still the views of this area were spectacular! To the left of us we had a perfect view of the London Eye. Many people of course were
waiting to get on for a ride so we were glad we had done that on a previous trip. We really enjoyed just the atmosphere around
this area as every turn gave us an insight to history, past and present. An example was the statues of Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela in the park across the road.
All too soon it was time to go back to Kings Cross Station and the hotel for a good night's sleep ready for the next adventure...
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