St Paul's Cathedral : The Stone Gallery

The Stone Gallery is the first of  two galleries above the Whispering Gallery that encircle the outside of the dome. 

The Oculus

A hole in the middle of the dome looking straight into the Crossing on the Cathedral Floor

St Paul's Cathedral : The Whispering Gallery

Climb 259 steps up the dome and you will find The Whispering Gallery, which runs around the interior of the Dome. It gets its name because of the acoustic effects; a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery. We tried but it did not work. Perhaps it is not true.

The Dome

View from the Whispering Gallery to the Cathedral Floor

The railings surrounding  the Gallery

St Paul's Cathedral : Climbing the Dome

There are 3 galleries attached to the dome in this attraction (Cathedral). We climbed a total of  528 steps to the Golden Gallery.

Plan taken from the St Paul's Cathedral website

St Paul's Cathedral : The Crypt

The crypt is the cathedral's foremost burial place, and the place where those who have made an outstanding contribution to the life of the nation now rest. 

Lord Nelson's Tomb

Wellington's Tomb

Florence Nightingale's Tomb

Christopher Wren's Tomb

The slab above Wren's Tomb

"Reader, if you seek a monument look around you"

St Paul's Cathedral : The Cathedral Floor

The floor plan of the Cathedral is in the shape of a cross.

The Nave

Mosaics on the quire ceiling

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral was rebuilt after the Great Fire by Christopher Wren. It is one of  the largest cathedrals in Europe and its dome is only exceeded in size by that of the St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The West Facade with the twin towers

Queen Anne's Statue

Should places of worship charge entrance fees?

 

Many places now do. I visited St Paul's when I was student in London. It was free. Paying an entrance fee changes the nature of the visit. To pay is to make a tacit statement that this is primarily a tourist attraction, that its sacred function is secondary to this.

Waiting for the tourist attraction to open with our pre-paid tickets.

 As tourists.

The Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge ia a 330 m steel bridge crossing the River Thames, linking the City of London at St Paul's Cathedral with Tate Modern Gallery at Bankside.

 

Officially it is known as the London Millennium Footbridge and unofficially as the Wobbly Bridge

Going down to the bottom of the bridge

Tate Modern in the background