There’s nothing quite like the calm you feel as you take in the cool stone walls, creaking polished pews and flickering candles of this 900-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site in the heart of London. On this private guided tour, you’ll be led by a professional with a Blue Badge qualification, so they’ll really know their stuff when you quiz them over the history of who was married, coronated and buried at Westminster Abbey. One of these guides, Sally, says, “walking through this Gothic masterpiece is like stepping into the history books. There are juicy details everywhere, if you know where to look, like the original stone masons’ marks carved into the walls like a Medieval signature.”
You’ll begin with priority entry through the Cloisters – huge, vaulted walkways that the original Benedictine monks would have wandered back in the 10th century. As you walk through the largest Gothic nave in England, you’re literally following in the footsteps of royalty. Every British monarch since William the Conqueror in 1066 has been crowned here, and 16 royal brides have walked down the same aisle you’ll be treading, including Queen Elizabeth II and Catherine Middleton, Princess of Wales – so you’re in fine company.
Your guide will point out the various tombs and memorials that line the church. Sally adds, “over 3,300 people are buried here, from scientists like Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin to queens like Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.” As well as Henry VII’s chapel, you’ll also visit an area dedicated to pioneers of the arts, called Poet’s Corner, with memorials to Shakespeare, Austen and Dickens. With artifacts like the 700-year-old Coronation Chair and a Roman coffin on display, you’ll find plenty to reflect on during this three-hour, history-packed visit.
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