Hammersmith

Weather - Cloudy and chilly - Min 8 Max 14

The start of the working week had us trying to organise our last week in London around the proposed train tube strikes which would affect three days. By the end of the day we were happy to learn that the strikes had been called off. 

Today was divided into two parts. Firstly we met with my old highschool buddy Malcolm at Hammersmith Station in the morning and we visited Westminster Abbey in the afternoon.

Malcolm has lived in the UK and Perth WA since leaving highschool working as a professor in education and he and his wife frequently visit England as his daughter has lived here for twenty years. I last saw Malcolm at our 53rd school reunion in Brisbane three years ago and he never changes. He’s a great storyteller and it was good to see a familiar face. Before departing on our different train lines we had a photo taken outside the healthy Krispy Kreme Donut shop at the station! 

When we emerged from the tube station at Westminster we were in awe at the immediate sight of Big Ben looking down on us and the Houses of Parliament sitting alongside it. Once we got our bearings and bought our online tickets we made our way to enter Westminster Abbey.

We found the abbey’s restaurant for lunch. Over one million people visit Westminster Abbey each year and it wasn’t hard to believe the number given today’s visitors. The quiet restaurant was a refuge from the crowds.

After eating we had the courage to join the throng and to explore every corridor, chapel and over 600 dedications to past Kings, Queens, explorers, scientists, writers and anyone else who has contributed to British society. The audio guide ensures everyone moves in one direction in a loop around the cathedral. We almost walked over the dedication to Captain Arthur Phillip (Admiral on the plaque) which said “First Governor of New South Wales and Founder of Modern Australia”. It also had a kangaroo on the dedication.

Sir Isaac Newton has a very large dedication on the screen before entering the Quire. Just beside it was a floor dedication to Stephen Hawking. 

The Quire was magnificent with its striking blue walls and red lamps. There was a section where we noticed Australia and it’s coat of arms.

We stood and looked at the altar where Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III and many other past kings and queens were crowned. The ceiling over the altar was exquisite.

Everywhere we looked either at the many tombs or the nooks and crannies there was a photo opportunity.

The abbey’s 700 year old history is extensive and it’s hard to take it all in. We lost count of the kings and queens who are buried there. We enjoyed being in the Poet’s Corner and recognising all the poets we knew of. It was the who’s who of British literature. 

We paid an extre £10 to climb steep stairs to the gallery sixteen metres above the abbey floor opened by Queen Elizabeth in 2018 and named ‘The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries’. We had a  good view over the altar. We weren’t able to take photos in the gallery but astonishingly we came across one of the 24 remaining Magna Cartas in a glass case.

It was another great and varied day. The days are now going quickly.

And finally, the Grave of the Unknow Warrior.