Travel: Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey – that’s right, back to London after celebrating a delicious American Thanksgiving. Okay, we’re not technically heading back, but rather revisiting photos from our September trip and I’m back to sharing.

If you’re visiting London, then you should most definitely check out this historical gothic church. The tour is a bonus and I would recommend it very much. It’s the same sort of tour you’d take when you visit Westminster Palace. Handheld audio guide. Note, you can’t take any photos inside of the church, so you’re stuck with outdoor photos.

Plan for about 90 minutes, or 2 hours if you expect to go into every temple. It’s usually quite busy and the entry into some of the temples are narrow causing lines to form. Most defiantly go in and see Mary Queen of Scots – and listen to all the fascinating info on the tour.

My favourite part of Westminster Abbey is Poet’s Corner. It’s the last area on the tour, yet worth sticking around and listening to all the highlights on the audio guide. They often have a few chairs set up so you can take a comfortable seat and enjoy your surroundings.

There is something deeply meaningful about listening to the history while being in the physical space. Bryce would be listening to one poet’s story and then would nudge me and ask me if I’d listened to it yet. Then we’d quietly talk about it…feeling like two gossips, but in all reality we were just trying to be polite. So much fun!

You don’t enter between the beautiful towers – nope, that’s where you exit. For the entrance (oh, and buy your ticket ahead of time, it’ll save you waiting in the queue for 30 minutes) you’ll enter through the side entrance.

Look at that architecture. It’s stunning.

Oh – last tidbit. The bombing that happened, you can see small bits of damage to the back end of the church. Keep your eyes open for it when you’re walking behind the back temple.