Comments on: St. Paul’s Cathedral – A visitor’s guide

By: Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral

Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:51:36 +0000

[...] this week I posted a Visitor’s Guide to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Today I’d like to talk about Thanksgiving in London… at St. Paul’s [...]

By: Jed

Jed — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:12:59 +0000

Hi, Jon. St. Paul’s certainly wasn’t untouched… they got lucky in that one of the bombs that could have destroyed it didn’t go off. There was a huge volunteer fire brigade at St. Paul’s that was constantly on watch to save the church, and they were clearly successful. The photos from the war with St. Paul’s standing and the rest of the area destroyed certainly helped public resolve in a very difficult time.

I don’t think it was ever anything that was off-limits, though I understand that some places like St. Paul’s were actually useful to the enemy as landmarks from which they could find their real targets. The “off-limits” that I had heard about were the cities such as Oxford and Cambridge, that came through the war okay…

By: Jon - The DC Traveler

Jon - The DC Traveler — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:20:46 +0000

Good call. This is a stunning “don’t miss” location in London. I understand the story of how it survived the blitz is just as amazing. Didn’t most of the surrounding neighborhood burn, leaving St. Pauls virtually untouched? And didn’t Churchill designate it as a locations that couldn’t be allowed to get destroyed?

By: Jed

Jed — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:26:54 +0000

Hi, Bellie. Yes, the climb can seem a bit harrowing getting up to the very top, but I’m glad you found it worthwhile.

Matt, when you do see it in person I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it!

By: Bellie

Bellie — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:51:29 +0000

I loved St Paul’s Cathedral and went to the very top on a windy/rainy (typical winter) day. It was a little scary at times, but well worth the hike!

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 05:59:33 +0000

Absolutely beautiful. I hope to see it in person one day.

By: Jed

Jed — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:49:36 +0000

Hi, Geoff!

While I do love the exterior or Westminster Abbey for the amount of detailing (and the cloisters), St. Paul’s is really the more magnificent church. After hiking all the way to the top I really felt like I got my workout done for the day!

By: Geoff

Geoff — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:40:50 +0000

Jed,

I agree. So much more impressive then Westminster Abbey to my eye, this is the one really worth visiting! I went as a child and have been back a few times since – it’s always worth another look.