Having recently spent the Easter break in London we went full throttle on the tourist trail. Selfies with Big Ben, sunset ride on the London Eye, popped by Buckingham Palace for a cuppa with Liz and hanging with the Lions in Trafalgar Square. It was like I had just visited London for the first time!
One thing we hadn’t planned on doing was going to see ‘The Monument’. To be honest I didn’t even know about it or the history behind it. My partner did but he’s British and probably learnt about it at School. I knew there had been a ‘Great Fire of London’ but that was about it.
So to fill you in, just in case you were equally as uneducated on this structure as I was. It is to commemorate the Great Fire of London which happened in 1666. It is also very close to the spot where it started (Pudding Lane) and is built on the site of where the first church that was burnt down by the Great Fire. There is also another monument where the fire stopped.
We were walking looking for a tube station to get back to our hotel after a nice little romantic moonlit walk along the Thames. I had seen on the map that Monument Station was up ahead. With that we looked down a side street and there it was in all its glory. This is when I had my history lesson. We also saw a sign saying you could climb up it for ONLY £4!! ( note- its only cash payments)
So the next day we headed straight there. There were only 5 people in the queue and it was a 1 in 1 out system. Paid our £4 and then climbed the very narrow 311 steps all the way to the top.
Whilst catching my breathe (yes it was a long way to the top) I then looked out and was shocked at the amazing views. You could see St Pauls, the London Eye, The Shard, London Bridge, Oxo Tower and just the beautiful London Skyline of and a few Cranes (or 100 so my other half counted). Looking at it at street level you could just see all the skyscrapers surrounding so I initially didn’t have high hopes of what we would see. I have since learned that the Monument website have a live camera giving panoramic views of London 24 hours a day.
I’ve been to the top of the London Eye and to the top of St Pauls and I can honestly say the views matched both of these and this it was ONLY £4 and no long queue. You even get a certificate on your way out to say you have climbed the monument, historic information and a nice historic sketch of the structure (without all the skyscrapers around it now).
If you find yourself in London I can’t recommend enough that you include going to see and climbing this beautiful Monument.
Here is a couple (ok more than couple) of photo from both the street level and also from the top. I’ve even put in a selfie – I couldn’t let Big Ben have all the fun.
More info- http://www.themonument.info/
xx
