WESTMINSTER ABBY ON A RAINY WINDY DAY:
Best laid plans thwarted by sleep. We went to bed with thoughts of going to the River Cafe In mind. Alas we woke late and headed straight to Westminster Abbey for our London Walks.
Years back we discovered London Walks and have gone on many of their walks. These are lead by Blue Badge Guides who do a wonderful job of interpretation of the various themed walks. If in London and you want a informative tour I can highly recommend London Walks. Here is a link to their web page - https://www.walks.com/. You brain will be filled with so much information.
We met our guide Mary at the appointed time and location. Then we were off learn so much about Westminster Abbey. As well as being a place of worship, Westminster Abbey has become a treasure house of artifacts. This is also where some of the most significant people in Britain's history are buried or commemorated.
Forty monarchs have been crowned in the Abbey since 1066.
At the west end of the Nave of Westminster Abbey is the grave of the Unknown Warrior, whose body was brought from France to be buried here on 11th November 1920.
The grave, which contains soil from France, is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble from a quarry near Namur.
At the eastern end of the Lady Chapel is the Royal Air Force chapel dedicated to the men who died in the Battle of Britain in 1940. This is the only grave in Westminster Abby one can not walk upon.
A memorial to the Polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is in the south cloister of the Abbey.
For me, the great writings of many come to life at Poets Corner. Here is a place of pilgrimage for literature lovers. More than 100 poets and writers are buried or have memorials here.
"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford"
Then there the scientists, mathematician and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton was buried in Westminster Abbey on 28th March 1727. His monument, by J.M. Rysbrack and W. Kent, is in the nave.
Close by is the location where Professor Stephen Hawking ashes are interred in the Abbey.
The list can and could go on. It had been few years since have visited Westminster Abbey and I am glad we returned.
The weather was still cold and windy and a tad wet, so we returned to Tower Hill.
Daily we have passed a vendor selling roasted peanuts and almonds. Enough I said and we got a mix of peanuts and almonds. We had our trusty ziplock bags and dumped a cup full of each into the bag. The vendor then added a couple extra scoops to our bag.
Then off to St Katherine’s Dock to the Dickens Inn for a late lunch. We split their fish and chips which was plenty for us. The Dickens Inn began life as a warehouse upon the Thames, standing proud near Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and what is now The Shard.
Believed to date back to the early 1700s, it was once thought to be a tea factory or even for brewing local ales.
Back to the hotel to chill and get this blog entry published.
