Some more of London...

On Saturday we spent most of the day in the cities of London and Westminister. As we walked from the station we saw again the Palace of Westminister which is the actual name for their parliament building...

Our first destination that day was Westminister Abbey...but first we stopped to take a photo of Winston Churchill...

By those queues near that entrance, looks like other people had the same plans as DH and I...but we didn't have to wait very long before we were inside...

As part of our entry fee we received a free audio tour with a pre-recorded commentary about various points in this magnificent old cathedral. The ceilings and carvings were really impressive and the amount of gold gilt in the decorative features was very impressive. As we walked along one of the naves I realised it was the 'aisle' that I had seen in many a royal wedding...what a long way it was to walk for these royal brides? 

As part of the cathedral there are many little chapels that appear to have been built in an ad hoc fashion throughout the centuries...it got quite ' squeezy ' in some of the smaller chapels as there really were hundreds of people trying to do the tour at once! Lol

There are many people buried in Westminister Cathedral including a very ornate tomb for Elizabeth the First. As well as kings, queens, knights, various aristocracy etc, there is also a large section given over to a Poets' Corner where many famous poets and writers are at rest. I noticed that just near where I sat to have a rest after walking around for an hour and a half was the grave of C.S. Lewis. 

Photography was banned in the cathedral but was allowed in the cloisters, so we took some photos there...

In the cloisters was this tribute to the voyages of Captain Cook...I spoke just as this photo was taken :-)

After the tour, as is usual, the exit took us out into a different street...

DH's clever photo gets both the Big Ben clock and the clock tower of Westminister Cathedral together.

We noticed a lot of people seemed to be stopping to take a photo of this statue; when we got closer we saw that it was Nelson Mandela...

More lovely gardens to admire...

Our next destination was Churchill's War Rooms which were a few streets away from the Cathedral. 

The traffic was slow moving as there were a number of demonstrators in the city that day with placards and chants decrying the Tory government's recent budget which doesn't seem very popular. We saw a lot of police vehicles in the area and then just as we were going to cross the road we saw this officer...

The war rooms were secret and hidden underground under government buildings. This is where Prime Minister Churchill directed the course of the war.

In the forecourt of the building above the war rooms was this statue of Clive of India...

Just at the beginning of the war rooms tour...

An old sign in the bunker. 

This place underground was a complete operational centre with offices, communications rooms, map rooms, electricity plants, dining halls, sleeping quarters etc, all secret. A video showing interviews with former civilian staff who explained that they were sworn to secrecy as to where they worked...even to their close family. Read more about this fascinating place at this link.  http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-cabinet-war-rooms

After another couple of hours at the war rooms, it was time to head off to our next destination...Buckingham Palace.

A close up of that statue...

How ornate are these gates?

Looks like we can't just drop in on the Queen for afternoon tea! Lol

So that was our Saturday of sight seeing!