Attending a Sunday Service at the Westminster Abbey, London

Day 4 I have been attending Sunday Service on Sundays since I was young. Regardless of where we are in the world during our travels, we try our best to attend a Sunday Service at a local church. This time we were in London and of course we would not miss the Sunday Service at the Westminster Abbey!

We were pretty excited at the thought of attedning a Sunday Service at Westminster Abbey - a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a significant national landmark in London. The Abbey has been the coronation church for English and British monarches since 1066. The coronation ceremony has kept a similar form for the last 1000 years. Many of the members of the royal family, sixteen of whom were married there. It is also a final resting place for seventeen monarchs as well as for more than 3,300 prominent political figures, poets, scientists and writers. It is a majestic building, a prime example of English Gothic architecture with numerous statues decorating its grand interior space.

Westminster Abbey is easily accessible via the tube. We got off at the Westminster Station and we were pracitically there. The area was busy with locals and large number of toursits. There were many pubs and restaurants in the neighbourhood.

There was a short line ready to go into the Abbey and we didn't have to wait for long at all. The interior of the church looked awesome with walls decorated with stained glass windows, statues, cravings and high vaulted ceilings. People dressed causally waititng quietly for the service to start. Picture taking was not allowed during the service at Westminister Abbey so that congregants could focus on the proceeding and the sermon. The choir sang beautifully that morning and the entire service lasted for about an hour.

I was sitting there listening to the sermon and at times wondering about all the famous people, rulers, kings and queens, political figures gathering here for various important ceremonies. Westminster Abbey is a huge place but the number of people attending the service was not a large numbrer unlike the images we saw on TV when the Abbey was packed to the rafters during special occasions.

People rushed to take a few pictures as soon as the service was over. We were happy to know that after the Sunday Service, the Abbey restaurant was open for lunch! We were delighted that not only had we attended a service at the famous Westmineter Abbey, we also had a British lunch there as well! What a nice experience!

RT. Westminster Abbey, London, UK