Tuesday 1 February 2000
Highlights: Westminster Abbey

With our alarm clock off at the insistence of Jon after yesterday’s waking, we ended up sleeping though to 2 pm!  Not a great way to spend limited time in London.

we quickly rushed to Westminster Abbey in order to make the last entrance time of 3 pm which we just made.  The Abbey was established in 1066 and all but two sovereigns were crowned here.  Most Kings and Queens are buried here and the heads of the Church of England (Anglican Church) meet and discuss religious matters here.

Notable memorials includes Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin.  The Abbey also houses the Coronation Chair which has been in use since the 1300s.  The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior (not solider) who died in World War I is also entombed here.

While magnificent the Abbey seems mostly concerned with honouring the great but not necessarily be a place of religious worship.