Even though, I am not really religious, I do like to visit some churches that stand out or are really old and or famous. When my friend and I visited London, England last year, he suggested that we should visit the world famous Westminster Abbey church. We happened to walk and roll right by it one day and had to check it out.
About Westminster Abbey
Founded in 960, Westminster Abbey is a large historic gothic church in the city of Westminster, London, England and is one of the country’s most important religious buildings. It is a special landmark because it is a burial site of over 3300 prominent people in British people.
All coronations of British and English monarchs took place at Westminster Abbey and many major weddings including Prince William and Kate Middleton back in 2011. It is also one of the main attractions in London with over 1 million visitors annually and is a must visit to anyone with an interest in history and/or royalty.
Getting There
My friend and I started our day early and headed by foot and chair not too far for breakfast and some city attractions. After going on the London Eye river cruise and Sea Life London Aquarium, as we were strolling along, we happen to be right at Westminster Abbey. The line to get inside the building was not long at all, so we decided it was a great time to visit, since it was on our list to visit anyways.
wheeling from our hotel and ready to check out Westminster Abbey
To our surprise, guests with disabilities and their companions are free to enter. This can not be booked online like other guests who can buy tickets online. Otherwise, adult ticks cost £27 each. It is open to the public everyday weekdays 9:30am to 3:30pm, and Saturdays 9am to 3pm, and are closed on Sundays.
wheelchair guests and their carer gets free admission to this church
Inside
so many stairs to see the Westminster Abbey burials
Once we got inside, I immediately was wowed with what I saw. The interior had such high ceilings and there were statues, sculptures and stained glass everywhere. Everything was designed as a gothic church with pointed arches and ribbed vaulted ceilings. I like how bright the inside of the church was as we can see bits of color everywhere coming from the stained glass windows.
Westminster Abbey burials
For an an old church, it was quite easy for me to get around everywhere except there were many stairs to get to one large room that is used for Westminster Abbey burials. Many royals, famous literary figures, politicians, and influential people throughout history have been buried here including Queen Elizabeth, Charles Dickens and Isaac Newton.
Coronation Chair
Other notable things that we saw include the Coronation Chair which was behind a locked fence to prevent anyone from coming closer to it. The Grave of the Unknown Warrior is the most important grave in the church and is surrounded by bright red poppies. The High Alter is where Britain’s monarchs are coronated.
The Grave of the Unknown Warrior
After about 45 minutes, we were done seeing everything at Westminster Abbey and were ready for our next museum. We then went to Churchill War Rooms, so look for that blog post soon.
The High Alter
Final Thoughts
tomb of Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England
Westminster Abbey was really worth checking out. With free admission for disabled visitors and their companions and decent accessibility I would definitely see it again. About an hour is all that is needed to see everything so it does not get in the way of other plans.
some of the many sculptures
bright tall stained glass windows
