St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of my favorite places in London. This cathedral is located in the City of London, which is actually a separate city and county inside of London. The City of London is known as the financial district, which means the area is busy from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the weekdays. On the weekends and after 5 p.m. during the week, the square mile is eerily quiet. It feels personal like you have the city to yourself. The closest tube stop (London’s underground railway) to St. Paul’s is appropriately named “St. Paul’s Station.” Although I visited St. Paul’s Cathedral many times, including Easter Sunday mass, my favorite trip was when I went with my “British Life and Culture” class.
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| My class on top of the Dome |
The whole class took the tube together and then walked to the Cathedral. Once we arrived, our professor taught us some history about St. Paul’s. My favorite pop culture fact was that the song “Feed the Birds” from Disney’s Mary Poppins took place in front of St. Paul’s. Julie Andrews, the actress playing Mary Poppins in the film, begins the song by singing, “Early each day on the steps of St. Paul’s…”
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| Famous photo of St. Paul’s during the Blitz |
Another interesting fact is that St. Paul’s Cathedral survived the Blitz, which was responsible for destroying much of London’s historic buildings. Nazi Germans did not bomb St. Paul’s because the cathedral served as a light source, illuminating the city. The little ammunition that did hit the Cathedral was cleaned up by priests, who were putting out fires around and on top of the dome of St. Paul's. The iconic photo of St. Paul’s was taken during the Blitz bombing.
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| Graffiti from 1776 on the wall of St. Paul’s |
My class started our climb to the top of St. Paul’s dome. I studied abroad for a year in Europe and feel qualified to say that out of all the monuments and towers I climbed, this was the hardest and steepest. But it was also the most worth it. Our first stop was about halfway up at the Whispering Gallery. The name of this large circular area derives from the fact that if you whisper against the wall you can hear the whisper on the opposite side. We continued the trek up narrow stairs, and it was a surreal climb. I felt like I was a part of something bigger as I read the graffiti on the side of the walls. I saw one section that dated back all the way to the year 1776.
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| London at Sunset with the London Eye in the background |
After 528 steps, we inched our way up the smallest wooden staircase at the top of the building. Finally, we stepped out onto the viewing area of the dome. I was rewarded with a view of the London cityscape. In that moment, St. Paul’s Cathedral had officially become my favorite view in all of London.
Written By: Rachel DeVore
