Sites of England

Big Ben

the London Eye

Guard on duty at Windsor Castle

Here are a few pictures from my trip to England in March 2007, when I visited my sister.

BIG BEN – A famous symbol of Parliament and all things English throughout the world, the Big Ben Clock is visible from many locations in London and is well worth visiting. Although most people refer to the entire tower as the Big Ben Clock Tower, the name Big Ben actually refers to the bell housed within the tower. The bell itself weighs almost 14 tons, and takes its name from the man who first ordered the bell, Sir Benjamin Hall. The four clock faces of the Big Ben in London are each 23 feet in diameter; the biggest of its kind when it was constructed.

THE LONDON EYE –  Since opening in March 2000 The Merlin Entertainments London Eye has become an iconic landmark and a symbol of modern Britain. The London Eye is the UK’s most popular paid for visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year. A breathtaking feat of design and engineering, passengers in the London Eye’s capsules can see up to 40 kilometres in all directions. Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour – twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting; allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop.   The views were AMAZING!

WINDSOR CASTLE – Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as a Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties. Every year The Queen takes up official residence in Windsor Castle for a month over Easter (March-April), known as Easter Court. During that time The Queen hosts occasional ‘dine and sleeps’ events for guests, including politicians and public figures.  She happened to be IN the day we visited and toured, but we did not see her.

I took each of these photos in color originally, but I edited them into Sepia as part of a weekly meme involving photos with Sepia tones.

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