Just keep in mind we was walking a very fine line making this video, so if your wondering why we didn’t delve more into the history or into the church… There are reasons for that. Would we have like to? YES…. But out of respect for the church of Englands policies and situations right now…we chose not to… we are not in a “position” to talk about the church of Englands history or St. Paul’s, which go hand in hand.
@@andymac900 so the rules and what people do is not the same lol. We consider ourselves Christians we have respect for holy places in our faith. People recording for personal use is one thing, to record to put on RUclips for clout is another lol. Also, when we were there, we were not professional videographers… now we are, so there was a whole other channel to go down for that, we chose a compromise. To not be disrespectful to the church’s wishes. Just to maintain our respect. To be fair there is video of me talking a lot about the history. But we chose not to use it.
@@Trippingthroughadventures I feel somewhat you did not do your research fully enough as if you had done all necessary research you would have been aware it is required to undertake a six month fitness training exercise before. Visiting the UK can be challenging as historic buildings were often not designed with elevators in mind, and it's unlikely that they will be retrofitted with one. So please bear in mind if you do visit the UK again Please engage in a six-month fitness and exercise regimen before visiting.
@@TrippingthroughadventuresI saw that video, and please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe you commented that it was the best doughnut you've ever had. If I'm wrong and have confused you with another RUclipsr, please let me know.
I was a volunteer guide at St. Paul's. I greeted two young American ladies at the entrance. I sat them down on a pew and started to give them a short introduction. The Bishop of London came by and joined in. He suggested that they sat in the Choir during the service that was soon to start. I set this up with the choirmaster. After the service, I met up with them again. They were both in tears with joy. They had never experienced anything so wonderful.
I once worked near St Pauls, and one day I came out of the office and some Americans were walking by. Suddenly, one of them pointed to the dome and said "what the hell is that?!... I didn't expect to see a replica of the Capitol Building in London!" Oh, dear.
So we couldn’t really talk about that cuz, when we went there we was not making money, now we are, the church has rules to really talk about the history we needed to set up and appointment and everything make a donation ect.. we didn’t, well because at that time we didn’t fall under the category of professional…. Now we do, so we focused more on the reactions of ourselves so we didn’t get to talk about much history, we felt that was a good compromise to not take advantage of the church lol. Make it purely reaction, lol. But it did seem like a big and obvious target to attack. To kind of get at the heart of Great Britain. Our personal we belief we believe god protects certain places for certain reasons.
The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral was pierced by a Nazi bomb, leaving the high altar in ruin. It was one of the few occasions that the 17th-century cathedral suffered significant damage during Germany’s nearly ceaseless bombing raids on London in the fall of 1940.
During the blitz fire wardens used buckets of water passed along by a human chain to put out the burning incendiaries before the roof structure itself caught fire. And presumably they had to walk up all those stairs and carry buckets of water up with them - amazing feat of human determination.
@@gdok6088 My late father was a young curate up in the North of England during the War. He was given the job of fire watch duty at Liverpool Cathedral, which meant every night he had to sleep high up in the roof among the rafters, waiting all night, listening for those bombers to come over... Fortunately there was never a direct hit, at least not while he was on duty. With only a few sand buckets provided, I don't think his confidence was high he'd be very successful at putting out any major fire. Still, he stuck it our, doing his bit for the war effort. Meanwhile his future wife, my mother, was working in South London as a secretary to the scientists at Woolwich Arsenal, which did get hit, with several people killed. They all got pretty blase about it. Some nights she'd go to the ballet or theatre, and walk back across the River, all the way home afterwards in the middle of a bombing raid, with London in complete darkness due to compulsory blackouts, without turning a hair...
Thank you for quoting me! There are so many extraordinary happenings in our history. Now, I don't know how to break it to you gently; but we have a lot of spiral staircases in Britain... It is a common way to get up old towers. I've seen many a lot more worn than that one; in my local Church I don't think the steps have been repaired since the fifteenth century, and the bell-ringers use them regularly. Wait till there's a crowd on the stairs and loud bells start ringing next to you... Of course, in castles, they weren't made to be easy to get up. A defender would want to push you to the bottom... And the angle of turn was deliberate, so that most people being right-handed, your sword-arm was impeded. Possibly you'll have to avoid going to the tops of things...
Love your videos. The funniest comment I heard from an American woman who was walking behind me on Tower Bridge one day was when she said to her husband "Wow it's amazing that Henry Vlll would have built such an amazing bridge that can still handle all the traffic and lift up for the ships!". I'd struggle with the steps at St Pauls at the moment as I am not that fit at the moment. I am 61 and will get myself fit again and then I'd be fine. When I was in my twenties I virtually ran up those steps in high heels.
Cathedrals are a massive testament to man’s ingenuity, vision, artistry, dedication, drive, tenacity etc. It is especially impressive when you consider the time when they were built. You should be very pleased that you were able to witness the structure from the perspective that you did. No mean achievement in itself. Give yourself a pat on the back for not only doing so, but videoing it too! 😎🤘
We really are ignorant to grand architecture of the past. Even in our own constructions in America. The things that we consider old and amazing, was actually standard maybe even outdated/perfected, by the time it was built here in the states. lol
Lawrence off Arabia is buried in a small village called Moreton in Dorset. It is near to the cottage he lived in. The church where he was buried only held 170 people and he asked to be wrapped in a Union Jack and there there to be no flowers on his coffin with no inscription. Also all of the mourners were to wear plain clothes whatever their rank! Lawrence of Arabia was an archaeologist in the Middle East before the First World War and was instrumental in uniting the different Arab factions against the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the region. The main country created from this was Saudi Arabia and also the surrounding countries. He tried to escape his fame after the war by first joining the RAF as an aircraft's man fitter and then joined the Tank Regiment under the name of T.E.Shaw.
@@TrippingthroughadventuresIf you are ever in Dorset, Moreton church is well worth a look in itself. Beautiful etched glass windows and a very unusual layout. The grave is just down the road in a detached cemetery, and there is a lovely ford across the local river that is a wonderful family bathing spot
@Trippingthroughadventures Watch the epic movie Lawrence of Arabia, it's excellent. 'Aurance' is still revered in Arabia. Also check out Wilfred Patrick Thesiger and Gertrude Bell.
@erikadavis2264 funny you say that right now as we speak “Aurance” is marching his men into Damascus lol, trying to learn as much as can about him lol.
@@marcuswardle3180 Killed on his Brough Superior motorcycle trying to avoid two children. on bicycles.He would have survived if he had been wearing a crash helmet.The doctor who treated him campaigned to make crash helmets compulsory.
I'm from London but I've lived in Denmark for 40 years and been negative about the state of my own country , it's so nice to be reminded of the beauty of England . Thanks
As most people no doubt realise, the current cathedral was built to replace the much older one that had been destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The original building was of gothic design, complete with spire, and there's an excellent model of it on display at the Museum of London (currently closed pending a move to a new site and due to reopen in 2026). Christopher Wren's choice of baroque for the design of the current building was very controversial at the time because it was considered to be too Catholic, and the critics wanted another gothic design, that being more traditionally English (and therefore Protestant).
I remember going up those stairs yrs ago when I was at school yes it's very steep and bit scary. I love st Paul's but westminster Abbey has the most amazing sculptures and the details in that place are mindblowing . 😊
We wanted to go and actually went but the line was wrapped around the outside of the building, we would have had to sacrifice some other things but next trip we will go 😇
Your reactions are so honest, and nieve, (in a good way) that was quite heartwarming. You have experienced new things given us your reactions. Good job. Best wishes from Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
As a child in sixties i can remember climbing the vertical ladder up to the top most point and looking around London before skyscrapers were everywhere and wasn't expecting gale force winds on my face . There was no wind at ground level . What really interested me after climbing down the vertical ladder was the glass window in the floor at the centre of the dome . Raising the view through the window also raised the cathedral floor many times more like a magnifying glass . Perhaps it was .
Hiya. Two questions. 1) Did either of you climb the vertical ladder and look out of the ball that supports the cross on the very, very top of the Cathedral? That's as far up as you can go. 2) Did you experience the phenomenon of the Whispering Gallery? Stay safe. All the best to you.
So Tiffany would have not I would have but I was unaware of it I would have like to see it. Yes we did walk through the stunning whispering gallery, but it had a strict no photo policy so we didn’t take no pics.
@@Trippingthroughadventures One of you should have walked round until you were opposite each other and then you can whisper to each other and hear it clearly.
My Local Church is called the Crooked Spire. The Spire was made using Green Oak ,When the Lead was added it Twisted and Leaned over a bit .Hence the name Crooked Spire .but it Was over 700 years ago...But the Urban myth is a lot better. One day the Devil was Flying over when he Noticed a Wedding he settled on the Spire and it Twisted. It's Said the next time a Virgen gets Married it will straighten that was over 700 years ago 😮.
I LOVE St Paul's. I am in no way religious, but the first time I went there I was so moved by how beautiful it is, I sat and sobbed for half an hour. Every time I go back, I still have tears. You missed out by not doing the audio tour. The crypt would not have been so creepy to you if you had some information to support what you saw. Those buried down there, particularly Nelson and Wellington, are huge figures in British history, and the fact that they are laid to rest within the walls of the Cathedral shows their importance. It's a huge honour. I have climbed those steps many times. I hate heights, but the view is something else. I felt a connection to the Cathedral on those "creepy" steps because you are so close to the dome as you climb. I could almost see the handprints of the men who built it, because it was exactly as they had left it hundreds of years before. As a postie at the time, I was able to climb all those steps at a fair clip without stopping and with an overnight bag on my back. Sadly, I know I will never be able to climb to the top again, but I will always love the Cathedral.
Don't forget to go into the crypts of the church or cathedral, as they often have vaulted ceilings and interesting statues, where famous people like Churchill and others were put before their funeral. St Paul's crypt is huge and has a café. St Martins in Trafalgar Square has a restaurant in the crypt. (It looks like a wedding cake). ..It also has free concerts, every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1pm. With students from the royal college of music playing clasical, jazz etc.
No they are really cool for what they are , I wonder if the iron steps was added later because when you walk out on the first balcony there was and actual stone stair case blocked off outside that may have either been another route or the actual stairs from the original design. But the idea of them carved from stone is amazing.
I accompanied my daughter on her school trip to St Paul’s and that stair case is terrifying lol my daughter started crying half way up. Good thing I was there 😅
I visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the early 1970s before they straightened it a bit. There were no guard rails on most of the floors - I stepped out on one of those without realising it and due to the angle nearly slid off into space as its slippery marble. Far more scary than medieval church steps! You have to understand these ancient places and watch your step. You can't expect elevators in these old places - its the reason one goes sightseeing, to marvel at these ancient structures...don't expect out of context mod cons!
Yes we really did appreciate the historical aspect, we just really thought it be fun to poke fun at ourselves a little bit. That’s why we mention so many other people having zero issue 😂🤣😂
Yep. Went up it in the 1980s. There was an iron rail at the top, but it is at topple height. The number of fellow tourists pushing their way around makes the whole experience quite interesting. IIRC There is a small staircase at the top with no guard rail. Getting past people who won't wait a second for one to ascend is a joy in itself.
Totally understand your fear. I climbed those stairs when I was a just teenager with loads of energy and as thin as a rake, size 4, agile and fit, and I also found the experience claustrophobic and scary because it was so narrow, steep, and winding. The view from the top was amazing but very exposing to the elements, with just some metal railings restraining from the drop, which added to the vertigo. Well done for making it up and down. And regarding churches having crypts underneath, one of the reasons, apart from the importance of the person buried there, was due to the body snatchers in London.
@@Trippingthroughadventures When you reached the top of the wide stairs...to the 'Whispering Gallery' did you whisper each side of the doorway to each other? That used to be my reason for climbing up the wide steps up to 'The Whispering Gallery', but due to poor health and mobility issues, I can no longer visit such historical and beautiful sites.
Thank you for the closed captions! I’m deaf and sooo many videos on You Tube frustrate me with garbage captions and these really help me enjoy your journey
Being buried inside a church or other holy/consecrated building was a sign of importance in the past over here. The closer to the altar you could be put, the higher your status or the holier you were. In partical terms it's a way to be visible long after your death, regardless of what your grave looks like. In religious terms, the closer to the altar, the closer to God. It may be different to how people view things now or has over the last century or two, but that's how it was some five to seven centuries or more ago.
Not a Christian myself (or religious in the slightest) but I love visiting cathedrals when I go to cities here in the UK. Something about them really makes you feel the history of the place, more than any castle or museum.
I had climbed the Great Fire of London Monument which is 311 step right before going to St Paul's, so when we saw the stairs we turned right back around 😂 The chapel and the crypt were more than enough to satisfy us!
That was hilarious. I didn't understand at first what you were saying about the regulations around video-photography, but having read further, I got it. I think... Since you're Christians (and even if you weren't) I'd highly recommend looking online and checking out the service times next time you're in an English city with a Cathedral. My particular favourite is Evensong. Not 'Evening Prayer' - 'Song' is key here, because it means it'll involve lots of singing and music. This is a great way to truly feel a part of the deeper meaning, atmosphere and beauty of a great Church of England Cathedral, instead of just visiting tourists - and no entrance fee, of course! You'll usually find a very well-trained choir (probably from the Cathedral's own Choir School) a skilled organist and a variety of music taken from many centuries of beautiful English sacred music, which honestly brings the whole place to life, filling all those echoing heights and ornate spaces with glorious sound. You can just feel how the space is designed, and the music written, all to the glory of God, as understood by past generations. If the form of service is unfamiliar to you, just sit a few rows back so you can watch and follow what everyone else is doing. It will give you a truly magical memory to take home with you, I promise!
We wanted to attend on while we were there but our schedule didn’t allow it, next trip we are going to make a special time out to attend a service and have a Sunday roast after. We would like to feel a little more of our faith inside those walls as to (as you said ) a tourist. lol
One other thing you should know about St.Pauls is the fact, there are no foundations! Its build directly on the London clay. There is even a system, which keeps the clay moist, because if the clay ever dried out and shrunk, theres a possibility it could collapse! The stairs going up are a work out! But remember back in the day when St.Pauls was built, people were a lot smaller and so didn't require a lot of width. If you every go to Spain and visit Barcelona city, then I recommend that you DONT go up the stairs of one of the spires of the famous Sagrada Familia!
Went up to the top of St Paul's Cathedral in my late teens (or possibly early twenties) - I was young, fit, agile (though still large) and did lots of hill walking at the time.... yep - the stairs were NOT nice! (especially the bits where I had to climb them sideways as they were too narrow). I'd forgotten all about this combined stair-climbing & fitness-test experience (it was 35+ years ago) so thanks for jogging my memory. Another great video about your UK experiences - I'm looking forward to seeing your next one (I've recommended your Tower of London video to a few American friends/colleagues who are thinking of visiting us in the near future). PS REALLY appreciate your respectful attitude to somewhere that is a working church (and not just a monument).
Yes a lot of peoples upset we didn’t do more of the history, but theres certain guidelines the church outlines that we did not meet… we are not going to rob from a church so it is what it is lol.
I say, I really enjoy your videos, you seem like really nice people, I believe there are seven places around the outside of London were there must be a view of St Paul's and I that is why the cheese grater building is that shape, so St Paul's can still be seen from that direction. Looking forward to your next video 🙂🏴
They do let you do the scary metal stairs in America .... inside the Statue of Liberty. We went up there Sept 2013. The spiral stairs were identical, but as we had already done St. Pauls, we had had practise. lol. 🤪😝🙃
Some of our best visits have been clambering around in the rooftop tours of the great cathedrals, such as Wells in Somerset. The close-up look at the cathedral or castle is amazing, as are the birds-eye views of the town below. But if you are terrified of heights / or unfit / or slightly larger than average, then it could be stressful. Getting halfway up and realising it's not so simple just to go straight back down especially when there are loads of people below you. I would say it's worth it. When you eventually get to visit a castle / or castles, I suggest that you research carefully. Some ruined castles can be every bit as terrifying to walk up, especially since most were built a good 800-900 years earlier than St Paul's, and the steps even more precarious. Other castles are more accessible, so check out in advance.
I would advise people to look carefully at videos such as yours before they attempt the climb. If you are claustrophobic and/or scared of heights to any degree, then definitely don't even think about it. These stairs and heights do strange things to peoples' minds. Well done for warning others.
I remember getting to London really early for an interview, which was near the Monument to the Great Fire of London (that burned down the Old St Paul's cathedral). I thought I would kill some time walking up the Monument. To this day, over 40 years later, I will never forget it had 311 steps, so 622 in total, before my interview. Somehow I still got the job.
I have done the climb 3 times, last year was the last, at the age of 76, I keep myself fit. Did you go to the whispering gallery? Enjoying your videos, have subscribed.
Honestly this is true. Hardwick Hall is a stately home built in the 1500s. A couple of miles away in the valley below runs the M1 motorway. I used to take groups of elderly Americans round central England. After visiting Hardwick Hall back on the bus I asked if anyone had any questions. Twice I was asked " why was it built overlooking a 6 lane freeway"
lol I’m in construction and every now in then we get a customer who is loaded ( got a lot of money) you talk to the person for 5 minutes, you wonder “how in the world did this person have enough sense to make this. 😂🤣😂
lol she was mad cuz I told her 500 steps was no big deal and this was very early on in the day, so she was not happy 😂🤣😂. I don’t think she’s ever said that to me out of anger lol.
When I was in NYC I climbed the Statue of Liberty, inside up-to the crown and looked out. A further London idea, climb the a Monument, and walk out onto the ledge.
I've only ever been to the basement area due to a catering event I worked at, unfortently didn't get to see the rest, so its great watching you both enjoy yourselves :)
Did you visit the American Memorial Chapel in St Pauls? It is behind the High Altar and is dedicated to the 28,000 US soldiers based in the UK during WW2 who died in combat. There is a large book (Roll of Honour) containing their names, rank and service. Each page leaf is turned once each day so that their names can be read. It also has a website which lists the names contained in the book as well as pictures of the Chapel itself.
I use lifts only when have my wife with me as she's disabled. Otherwise i use the stairs. Went to st Paul's in the late 70's beautiful church some wonderful memories. I still have the visitors book I bought when there.
If you think the stairs at St. Paul's are bad wait until you go to St. Paters in the Vatican City! There, to get to the top, you have to go up the stairs which are between the Outer shell and Inner shell of the Dome of the Cathedral! This means that as you go up in a massive spiral the roof over you makes you lean over to one side! Also to compound this is that you cannot stop as all the other tourists are behind you. There are windows, but not many, built into the outer dome where you can sit in while everybody files past! When you do get to the top it is so crowded that you don't get to appreciate the view of Rome! Then you have to walk all the way down leaning as you go!
I’ve done St Paul’s twice (most recently just a few weeks ago), and St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City a few months ago (I’m in my 40s). My boyfriend and I climb cathedrals and church towers all the time. I’m no fitness freak and don’t do any kind of formal working out, but your body gets used to steps. The first time we did St Paul’s was during the summer, and it was around 30 degrees, so the heat made it absolute murder. The second time was literally a walk in the park. Took us about ten minutes to get to the top.
NOT true that people were smaller. Some of these churches have massive doors, which means the people were much bigger? It makes no sense. The difference between us & them is a couple of inches at most. The stairs are small to fit in the thickness of the walls, & some are very wide.
@@robertwhite952 Yes I know Nelson was short, but the headroom on a ship was the same for all, nothing to do with his height, but the amount of wood needed for these ships. The ceilings of many houses in those days were a lot higher than they are in most modern buildings, which; by your measure; would make people giants, which is also nonsense. They didn't make steps small because they had little feet, but because they had little space, & to conserve materials, & many stairs were much larger than necessary in any case. People, on average, were a little smaller than today; but it was not as much as many suppose, & the dimensions of building features is not a good guide for estimating this.
St Paul's was only Catholic until the Reformation, so since the 16th century it has been an Anglican church (Protestant). Medievil 'old St Pauls was consecrated in 1240. The St Pauls cathedral as seen now was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1668 after the okd one was burnt down in the great fire of london in 1666.
@@Trippingthroughadventures Lots of places still exist in the city of london which were built before the great fire of 1666. its amazing when you find them .
I feel for you with the climb in St Pauls - done it a few times now. Aside from the physical toll, I don't mind the first part up to the whispering gallery, or the second part up to the outside base of the dome, but crikey...the last part with the metal spiral staircases and the sheer drop scares me rigid. I can only do it by staring straight ahead, which usually means looking at the bum of anyone who is in front of me, which is strange to say the least....
It’s an adventure and you’ll never forget it lol 😂 I’m from Yorkshire and used to visiting lots of places like this going down the steps is always worse than going up! 😊
Cathedrals and Minsters in the UK and in Europe have small chapels, some reserved for rich families, who often pay for them to be built, which are used for private and smaller services rather than using the whole of the cathedral. Our churches and Cathedrals also have graveyards, but important people were (are) often honoured by being buried in the house of God itself. Imagine if Queen Elizabeth had just been buried in a graveyard.
@@neuralwarp And they are the largest chapels, not the small ones I was referring to, built or sponsored by the aristocracy to shield them from the dirty, smelly plebs who worked for them.
@@neuralwarp By the way, many if not all smaller Anglican churches do not have lady chapels as in cathedrals and larger churches, and those smaller churches are in the majority, so I would not say 'most'. However, they may have a side altar dedicated to Mary.
That '80s comment had me lol for real, as while watching your videos I had been thinking about the pubs in my local town that I went drinking in as a twenty something. It could be so cliquey, unwelcoming and downright intimidating! I did Route 66 back in 1996 with a group of friends, to begin with, we made the mistake of going to the CBD thinking it was like "down town" in the UK or Europe, we eventually realised that in US cities it is the suburbs where things happen not the centre. I remember going to a wonderful bar in one city on a Friday night which was so refreshing because of the mix of younger and older people all having a good time. Ohhhhh and I am with you on those stairs, you wouldn't catch me going up them for all the tea in China, I did go up the Sears Tower and also the Gateway Arch....... interesting 😱
So American bars change through out the land you are in here in the states, here in our part of Florida, here we have tourist/sports bars ( mixture of food and drinks very well themed and usually safe) then you have random biker style bars ( usually a lot rougher in appearances but despite the name, bikers tend to be some of the friendliest people you will meet) Then you have your rougher bars that are run down Then you have your Latin bars ( pretty common in Florida from Orlando down if you don’t speak Spanish your going to have a 50/50 shot of getting a drink lol) Some are safe some are very very dangerous. If you watch the news it’s pretty easy to see which ones are safe and which ones are not lol.
Lawrence of Arabia(Thomas Edward Lawrence) CB DSO (16 August 1888 - 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915-1918) against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, a title used for the 1962 film based on his wartime activities.
I’ve been up there, sure it’s not to modern standards but it’s 400 years old. If you didn’t like that the iron stairs on the Eiffel Tower it is terrifying.
Did you see the coverage of the late Queen Elizabeth II funeral. Over the days of mourning you would have seen many great sights of London. She had her laying in State inside Westminster Hall, for 4 days, then carried by gun carriage to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral service, after in procession up Whitehall, the Mall, past Buckingham Palace, to Wellington Ach. She was transferred to a Hurst for the drive to Winsor Castle, and a service at St. Georges Chapel, to remove the chattels of office of state, and lowered down into the Crypt, where she rests in peace. I don't know how well America covered the events, but they can be seen on RUclips.
You are not alone. Several years ago whilst doing what you did, a tourist, an American Lady, ‘froze’ and could neither move up or down. Those of us below her had to evacuate, whilst they talked her down, I guess.
The stairs are like it because it's old, no health and safety back then. Why is a crypt weird and scary ? It's normality back in the Day throughout Europe 🤔. The closer you were buried to the church the closer you were to God and protected. Great video but over reaction to normality regarding old things.
We actually question ourselves on that same thing you just questioned us on, “why did we think the crypt was weird? why would it be better if they were next to the church and not under it” in the video lol as far as being scary any type of grave yard is creepy lol, keep in mind terms like crypt is not used in America unless it’s in a scary movie type setting. So we obviously relate to a more eerie type feel than Brit’s do, that’s why we found it so amusing when the person said it with such a chipper attitude lol.
@@Trippingthroughadventures As my father told me when a little boy and scared as we walked past a grave yard “the dead will never hurt you, the living might but the dead never will”.
@@Trippingthroughadventures you've been watching far too many Hollywood horror films 😂. Keep up the good work, you are a great couple and love the respect you show for architecture and history. All the best my friends 😉🙂👍
I went up those stairs in St Pauls Cathedral. It was a once in a life time thing as in I would never want to do it again. You were lucky, you didn't have people coming down trying to pass you. Did you go to the whispering gallery? You whisper into the wall and people on the opposite side put there ear next to the wall and can hear you.
I've been to St. Pauls and did the tower walk. It isn't that bad from what i remember. I enjoyed it a lot and found the Whispering Gallery very interesting. A beautiful builiding. You should try doing a moderately difficult Mountain or Coastal route in England, Wales or Scotland. They will test your mettle a bit more maybe. Best wishes from The Midlands, U.K. 🙋♂😊
The original cathedral burnt down in 1666 during the Great fire of London. The one you visited was a design of Sir Christopher Wren and he started the building also with much more of London. The closeness of the tomb to the alter reflects the status and importance of the occupants. You will have walked on tombs when you went along the knave. If you were not famous enough or wealthy enough then you might be entombed in the crypt, under the knave, or lower in status, just outside the walls. Did you go up in the dome sufficiently to be able to use the whispering gallery where a whispered comment can be heard on the other side of dome? There is a famous photo of St. Paul’s from world war 2 where above it can be seen the tails left behind by the fighting aircraft, the RAF and the German Luftwaffe.
What did you think about the whispering Gallery? Brilliant, ain't it? Saint Paul's Cathedral is the Home of the Protestant Church of England. So glad you liked it, crypt and all. Not quite the same as the Bone Chaple Crypt in the Roman Catholic Church in Rome! Sorry the lift, (Elevator on the way up, de-elevate on the way down), was being serviced on the day of your visit but it is 350 years old and even with British Engineering, it needs a break some time! And the phrase "We WAS terrified" should read "We WERE terrified"! Your poster who was merely pointing out that pub etiquette can get quite full-on at times and most locals have sessions that start early, finish late, Lock-Ins, Shut-Ins, Afters, proper sessions, where the local plod might even pop in for a pint! They are not for the faint hearted, those that couldn't stay the course! There is nothing like having a proper sesh and drinking all night, Newcastle Brown in one hand and a full english in the other and then straight to work at 06:30! It's ok, i didnt drive, until the return journey!
So yes it was a very beautiful place, but alas no pictures allowed lol, yes the bone chapel would be amazing to check out lol the lift is fine, there was a lift but I think it only made it up to the whispering gallery. The rest you was on your own lol. It was so hard doing this video because there were so many rules that we didn’t want to break, that would of came across so disrespectful to the church if we did, so we really had to keep it to our feelings and not so much the history. So this video even though it had a good laugh, we didn’t get to talk about the things we truly wanted to, but we got tons of material to move forward with.
I'm a non-believer, but St. Paul's is certainly an awe-inspiring feat of construction and actual completed work, it's stunning. I've done the steps to the top and... yeah, there's a lot of steps. Can't help thinking of that scene in In Bruges though 🤣 You guys look pretty good as tourists, you're properly interested and into doing the learning - pretty good advert for Americans. It's weird, we do take a lot of this stuff for granted, but castles, monuments and constructions that are hundreds of years old, it's just what I grew up with and around, but yeah, even as a non-believer, there's an awe at St. Paul's. I did a visit there accompanying an Autistic adult, right to the top - he was in much better physical condition than me + I was in good shape back then. We got right to the top, looked out, got some photos - he was big into architecture and I said to him "what do you think, impressive?" and his reply was "I need the toilet" 🤣a couple of minutes to catch my breath and back down the stairs to find a loo - damn knees and cardio 🤣🤣🤣
English Royalty are married in Westminster Abbey and not st. Paul's Cathedral. Lawrence of Arabia was a reaĺ person and my ex wife's grandfather was his driver. If you are afraid of heights, try watching Fred Dibna steeple jack laddering a very high chimney.
Did you notice at some corners and stairs there are some names carved onto the wall and the stairs from people hundreds of years ago it's a cathedral haha there is cathedrals in Glasgow as well some nice craftsmanship.
So we actually didn’t but, while we was there we were not monetized, and in order to talk about the history and create a show that does, you really need to go get the church’s permission to do so. I’m not big on going against church’s so we talked about our own interactions and not so much the history, although the majority of what we originally had was about the history, but it felt disrespectful to post. This is the compromise we came to. That’s why it was only pictures in the crypt and chapel and we filmed only us on the stairs to honor their rules.
I’m from Wales 🏴 in the UK and I’ve seen St Paul’s Cathedral from a distance but I’ve never been inside. It’s a beautiful building built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Possibly one of the most famous people to be buried there is Lord Horatio Nelson who defeated Napoleon’s forces at the Battle of Trafalgar, the most famous Naval battle in history. Unfortunately Nelson was killed onboard his Flagship HMS Victory, which is on display at Portsmouth Naval Museum, and yes, you can actually go aboard her and experience living history. It’s a magical experience alongside visiting Henry VIII’s Flagship the Mary Rose, a wooden Tudor warship. The Mary Rose is in several pieces given that it’s 513 years old !!! However you can still see her cargo of weapons including guns and Longbows - the rifle of its time. I would highly recommend that you travel outside of London and visit England - Portsmouth Naval Museum as stated above, the Roman Baths at Bath, the Cotswolds for the majesty of the English countryside, Liverpool for its cultural heritage, York for its Viking heritage and stunning York Minster Cathedral, Scotland for Edinburgh Castle, the hundreds of gorgeous Lochs, stunning scenery, castles and culture. Ireland for the beautiful coastline - the Giants Causeway is magnificent, the amazing historical city of Dublin, the beautiful Irish countryside and of course the pubs. Visit Wales, my home country, for the Castles, the beautiful beaches and coastline, the mountains and lakes of Snowdonia (1 of 3 National Parks), the many Islands off the coast like in Scotland and of course the people ;)
Love your videos and your reflective thoughts and curiosity. You are a lovely couple. And if you get any pompous or critical comments from odd people, just ignore them. Some folk are way too serious and don't understand that you are sharing your vacation videos, and not creating a history and culture documentary just for them.
We love it, we live on a world that people think it takes a smile and a “weee” for you to enjoy it, but moments like that will be in your memory forever lol. There’s a lack of common sense people lack. The idea of “ oh you didn’t like it? Well that’s because 🤬” No…. We did like it, we actually loved it. These things being so unique and different and kind of scary is why we did love it. We were freaking out walking up a 300 year old staircase up to amazing view of one of the greatest cities in the world…. What’s not to love lol
Thank you for your charming videos about the UK,. St Pauls is a wonderful, interesting building and my brother was fortunate enough to be married at the Chapel of the Crypt some years ago. Some of the interesting people who's tombs are there include Vice-Admiral (Lord) Horatio Nelson who's unconventional, inspirational tactics proved decisive in the Napoleanic and French Revolutionary wars including the famous Battle of Trafalgar victory, Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley (Lord Wellington) who besides being the Prime Minister of England twice, was a great Commander of the Army and defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo thereby ending the Napoleonic wars in 1815. Also Sir Christopher Wren, the famous architect and Sir Alexander Fleming who discovered the world's first anti-biotic (Penicillin) have tombs there.
I’m still catching up sorry, but may interest you to know St Paul’s featured in the late Fred Dibnah’s TV series called “Magnificent Monuments” in the episode called “Places of Worship”. One particularly interesting thing he says is that there’s a perception that the skills necessary to make something so ornate have been unlearned and lost in time. However that isn’t the case… the most ornate elements of these structures are also the most fragile and the most exposed, so they undergo constant repair and renovation, and he shows some of the crafts people who work all day long replicating worn out elements of these buildings so they can be maintained. A great and current example is the Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben (the largest bell). It’s recently undergone a massive renovation and looks absolutely stunning now compared to how it looked before. They managed to locate the original construction plans in the national archives and reinstated some elements that were there originally but had been lost in earlier renovations, for example the numerals were painted blue again which really makes the clock faces pop in a way in which it never did before.
I took myself on a trip arround St Pauls, two bits had me in bits. At Nelsons tomb it was surrounded by Spannish students, while walking in the roof it was full of German students. If you know some of our history you will understand why i laughed. Nelson was our strongest navel comander who had victory over the Spanish Amada. The Germans in the roof was a referance to WW2 during the Blitz a bomb got stuck in the roof, a brave fire watch man unlodged it and saved the roof so having a bunch of German students shows how times have changed. Larance of Arabia is a must see film, he was a truly amazing man he was in our army. He died sadly in a motorbike crash in England. He is much admired so diserves his place in St Pauls.
@@mikeymikeFType Sir Francis Drake is always associated with the defeat of the Spanish Armada during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and Horatio Nelson with the battle of Trafalgar years later regardless of the combined nationalities of the opposing force. That was my point.
To your point about Windsor Castle being so close to Heathrow Airport, I've seen so many comments about that on RUclips videos over the years. But the interesting thing is, the person making the comment generally claims that it was THEY who heard "this American lady" ask why they built Windsor Castle so close to the airport! By that reckoning, someone must be overheard asking that question every few weeks! 😁
Respect to you two for climbing those stairs. I've never actually visited St Paul's Cathedral myself but I have heard of the 'whispering gallery' which I understand faces into the dome. I don't know if anyone answered your question about TE Lawrence but he's actually buried in Dorset, not far from the cottage in which he lived. It's a lovely part of Britain if you get the chance to visit. 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
The Polar Bear didn't survive very long in London. There were lots of other animals over the years, until they were removed & a proper zoo was built in the 19 th century. It's best to read a guide book if you're visiting someplace!
You know this is the only place we didn’t read the guide book, why….i couldn’t tell you. We just walk right by it, full audio tour. We didn’t do that any where else but here… if I had to guess, I think we was so taken back from what we was looking at we kind of, just walked to it to look at it, not being able to video, I don’t think people get the true idea of how astounded we was by this place. As far as the polar bear, it was mention on the tour, as far as many, many, many other unbelievable things lol.
Fun fact :- notice the spiral staircases rotate to the right when ascending, this is copied from spiral staircases in Castle towers and is a defensive tactic. ( most people are right handed) it’s much harder for a right handed person to use their sword while attempting to attack up a spiral staircase and easier for a right handed person to defend from the upper part of the staircase.
I wonder. In the UK growing up from the 70's onward I've been through a few fire drills in old schools. Most of the stairs were steel and zig-zag or spiral. Also we were raised on climbing up and down old castles and cathedrals before health and safety. It's much safer now, lol PS I'm also 5' 8" ;-)
John Thomas is buried in St. Paul's. Fun fact : in the UK your "John Thomas" is your male member. There's a statue of John Thomas in the Cathedral. If you look at it carefully, you'll know why the British call it your John Thomas. 😂
St Paul’s is my favourite building in the world, I go there every time I go to London..it’s become a thing. I’m not religious at all, but St Paul’s feels like the Church of the people, whereby Westminster Abbey is the Church of the Monarchy; both amazing places.
The steps spiral clockwise in castles and cathedrals etc, as most people are right handed it gives the advantage to a defender as apposed to the assailant.
You come to soak in the history in a medieval building that was built in 1675 then make the stupid comment why isn’t there a lift ( elevator). It’s not a church it’s a cathedral, churches have vicars cathedrals have bishops. The icing on the cake is Lawrence of Arabia is probably a Disney character, if you did your research before you post comments, you will get more respect. It’s brings to mind that famous quote from one of your fellow countrymen when commenting on the jets flying over Windsor Castle on there approach to Heathrow Airport, ( Why did they build the Castle so close to the Airport). I’m not trolling you I’m just a proud Englishman.
a lot of people got the joke about the elevator, you didn’t though Cathedral is a type of church not a different entity look up the definition. Never compared Lawrence of Arabia as a Disney character, if you were aware of Disney, there’s a park (formerly MGM studious ) that’s completely dedicated to old movies and early years of Hollywood. I’m aware it wasn’t a troll, a troll post would have more validity and not comment on obvious jokes in fear it would make their selves look ignorant lol. Don’t worry, watch our vlogs, you’ll see my humor is very dry, sometimes I seem serious… figured you as an English man would catch on quicker.
About signs with number of steps, these can also be spotted seen at certain deep tube stations that do not have an escalator, only a lift like Covent Garden station, there are Edwardian cast iron spiral stairs, the sign advises approx 193 steps to dissuade you, so approx equivalent to a 13 storey building.
Just keep in mind we was walking a very fine line making this video, so if your wondering why we didn’t delve more into the history or into the church… There are reasons for that. Would we have like to? YES…. But out of respect for the church of Englands policies and situations right now…we chose not to… we are not in a “position” to talk about the church of Englands history or St. Paul’s, which go hand in hand.
People record in the church all the time mate, so long as there is not a service going on if that is your issue
@@andymac900 so the rules and what people do is not the same lol. We consider ourselves Christians we have respect for holy places in our faith. People recording for personal use is one thing, to record to put on RUclips for clout is another lol. Also, when we were there, we were not professional videographers… now we are, so there was a whole other channel to go down for that, we chose a compromise. To not be disrespectful to the church’s wishes. Just to maintain our respect. To be fair there is video of me talking a lot about the history. But we chose not to use it.
@@Trippingthroughadventures I feel somewhat you did not do your research fully enough as if you had done all necessary research you would have been aware it is required to undertake a six month fitness training exercise before. Visiting the UK can be challenging as historic buildings were often not designed with elevators in mind, and it's unlikely that they will be retrofitted with one. So please bear in mind if you do visit the UK again Please engage in a six-month fitness and exercise regimen before visiting.
@@MrCoxy38 well obviously we wasn’t aware did you see our last video where we destroyed a bunch of doughnuts at a market …. Same day 🤣😂🤣😂
@@TrippingthroughadventuresI saw that video, and please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe you commented that it was the best doughnut you've ever had. If I'm wrong and have confused you with another RUclipsr, please let me know.
I was a volunteer guide at St. Paul's. I greeted two young American ladies at the entrance. I sat them down on a pew and started to give them a short introduction. The Bishop of London came by and joined in. He suggested that they sat in the Choir during the service that was soon to start. I set this up with the choirmaster. After the service, I met up with them again. They were both in tears with joy. They had never experienced anything so wonderful.
I once worked near St Pauls, and one day I came out of the office and some Americans were walking by. Suddenly, one of them pointed to the dome and said "what the hell is that?!...
I didn't expect to see a replica of the Capitol Building in London!"
Oh, dear.
I bet they went to Cologne and shouted 'Wtf! How dare they copy St Patricks Cathedral in NYC!'
How St Paul's wasn't blown up during the blitz is amazing in itself.
So we couldn’t really talk about that cuz, when we went there we was not making money, now we are, the church has rules to really talk about the history we needed to set up and appointment and everything make a donation ect.. we didn’t, well because at that time we didn’t fall under the category of professional…. Now we do, so we focused more on the reactions of ourselves so we didn’t get to talk about much history, we felt that was a good compromise to not take advantage of the church lol. Make it purely reaction, lol. But it did seem like a big and obvious target to attack. To kind of get at the heart of Great Britain. Our personal we belief we believe god protects certain places for certain reasons.
The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral was pierced by a Nazi bomb, leaving the high altar in ruin. It was one of the few occasions that the 17th-century cathedral suffered significant damage during Germany’s nearly ceaseless bombing raids on London in the fall of 1940.
Plenty of incendiaries landed on the building roof too.. A few very brave guys put the incendiaries out to protect the cathedral
During the blitz fire wardens used buckets of water passed along by a human chain to put out the burning incendiaries before the roof structure itself caught fire. And presumably they had to walk up all those stairs and carry buckets of water up with them - amazing feat of human determination.
@@gdok6088 My late father was a young curate up in the North of England during the War. He was given the job of fire watch duty at Liverpool Cathedral, which meant every night he had to sleep high up in the roof among the rafters, waiting all night, listening for those bombers to come over... Fortunately there was never a direct hit, at least not while he was on duty. With only a few sand buckets provided, I don't think his confidence was high he'd be very successful at putting out any major fire. Still, he stuck it our, doing his bit for the war effort.
Meanwhile his future wife, my mother, was working in South London as a secretary to the scientists at Woolwich Arsenal, which did get hit, with several people killed. They all got pretty blase about it. Some nights she'd go to the ballet or theatre, and walk back across the River, all the way home afterwards in the middle of a bombing raid, with London in complete darkness due to compulsory blackouts, without turning a hair...
St Pauls was designed by Christopher Wren. He is interred there with a plaque that shows "Reader, if you seek his monument - look around you"
In Latin. Si monumentum requiris, circumspice.
@@missharry5727 Thank you, There is no 'reader'.
@@missharry5727 If you seek my monement, look around you.
Thank you for quoting me! There are so many extraordinary happenings in our history.
Now, I don't know how to break it to you gently; but we have a lot of spiral staircases in Britain... It is a common way to get up old towers. I've seen many a lot more worn than that one; in my local Church I don't think the steps have been repaired since the fifteenth century, and the bell-ringers use them regularly. Wait till there's a crowd on the stairs and loud bells start ringing next to you...
Of course, in castles, they weren't made to be easy to get up. A defender would want to push you to the bottom... And the angle of turn was deliberate, so that most people being right-handed, your sword-arm was impeded.
Possibly you'll have to avoid going to the tops of things...
Thank you for the awesome info, yes I think we can handle it better now we know how to gauge what we are in for! lol
Love your videos.
The funniest comment I heard from an American woman who was walking behind me on Tower Bridge one day was when she said to her husband "Wow it's amazing that Henry Vlll would have built such an amazing bridge that can still handle all the traffic and lift up for the ships!".
I'd struggle with the steps at St Pauls at the moment as I am not that fit at the moment. I am 61 and will get myself fit again and then I'd be fine. When I was in my twenties I virtually ran up those steps in high heels.
Go to the north entrance. It's all ramped.
I heard an American lady say of Windsor "Why did they build the castle so near the airport?"
Cathedrals are a massive testament to man’s ingenuity, vision, artistry, dedication, drive, tenacity etc. It is especially impressive when you consider the time when they were built. You should be very pleased that you were able to witness the structure from the perspective that you did. No mean achievement in itself. Give yourself a pat on the back for not only doing so, but videoing it too! 😎🤘
We really are ignorant to grand architecture of the past. Even in our own constructions in America. The things that we consider old and amazing, was actually standard maybe even outdated/perfected, by the time it was built here in the states. lol
Lawrence off Arabia is buried in a small village called Moreton in Dorset. It is near to the cottage he lived in. The church where he was buried only held 170 people and he asked to be wrapped in a Union Jack and there there to be no flowers on his coffin with no inscription. Also all of the mourners were to wear plain clothes whatever their rank! Lawrence of Arabia was an archaeologist in the Middle East before the First World War and was instrumental in uniting the different Arab factions against the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the region. The main country created from this was Saudi Arabia and also the surrounding countries. He tried to escape his fame after the war by first joining the RAF as an aircraft's man fitter and then joined the Tank Regiment under the name of T.E.Shaw.
So he was a real man, wanted to preserve and help the world, without any of the
Accolades that when with it. I’m going to research him.
@@TrippingthroughadventuresIf you are ever in Dorset, Moreton church is well worth a look in itself. Beautiful etched glass windows and a very unusual layout. The grave is just down the road in a detached cemetery, and there is a lovely ford across the local river that is a wonderful family bathing spot
@Trippingthroughadventures Watch the epic movie Lawrence of Arabia, it's excellent. 'Aurance' is still revered in Arabia. Also check out Wilfred Patrick Thesiger and Gertrude Bell.
@erikadavis2264 funny you say that right now as we speak “Aurance” is marching his men into Damascus lol, trying to learn as much as can about him lol.
@@marcuswardle3180 Killed on his Brough Superior motorcycle trying to avoid two children. on bicycles.He would have survived if he had been wearing a crash helmet.The doctor who treated him campaigned to make crash helmets compulsory.
I'm an American. I've visited St Paul's many times. I thought it was beautiful.
Very beautiful 🤩
I'm from London but I've lived in Denmark for 40 years and been negative about the state of my own country , it's so nice to be reminded of the beauty of England . Thanks
You've lived in Denmark for forty years but still consider Britain your own country? Typical ex-pat!
As most people no doubt realise, the current cathedral was built to replace the much older one that had been destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. The original building was of gothic design, complete with spire, and there's an excellent model of it on display at the Museum of London (currently closed pending a move to a new site and due to reopen in 2026). Christopher Wren's choice of baroque for the design of the current building was very controversial at the time because it was considered to be too Catholic, and the critics wanted another gothic design, that being more traditionally English (and therefore Protestant).
I was lucky enough to be in this church during a service, I believe it was Good Friday and the choir was singing, the sound was amazing.
I bet that was amazing to hear!
Do you know how much we in the UK like your videos,it's because your down to earth something we Brits like.
lol thank you so much for the kind words lol idk what to say back to that cuz we are awkward people but thank this makes us feel good 😊
St. Paul's Cathedral is the people's Cathedral. Westminster Cathedral is the Royal Cathedral where Royalty get married.
Westminster Cathedral is actually Roman Catholic. Westminster Abbey is Church of England and the place where royalty is crowned and so forth.
I remember going up those stairs yrs ago when I was at school yes it's very steep and bit scary. I love st Paul's but westminster Abbey has the most amazing sculptures and the details in that place are mindblowing . 😊
We wanted to go and actually went but the line was wrapped around the outside of the building, we would have had to sacrifice some other things but next trip we will go 😇
@@Trippingthroughadventures cool .
Your reactions are so honest, and nieve, (in a good way) that was quite heartwarming. You have experienced new things given us your reactions. Good job. Best wishes from Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
As a child in sixties i can remember climbing the vertical ladder up to the top most point and looking around London before skyscrapers were everywhere and wasn't expecting gale force winds on my face . There was no wind at ground level . What really interested me after climbing down the vertical ladder was the glass window in the floor at the centre of the dome . Raising the view through the window also raised the cathedral floor many times more like a magnifying glass . Perhaps it was .
Hiya. Two questions.
1) Did either of you climb the vertical ladder and look out of the ball that supports the cross on the very, very top of the Cathedral? That's as far up as you can go.
2) Did you experience the phenomenon of the Whispering Gallery?
Stay safe. All the best to you.
I went up to the golden ball gallery many,many years ago.I recall the vertical ladders and it being very dark!!
Lawrence of Arabia…..read his book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. A remarkable man.
So Tiffany would have not I would have but I was unaware of it I would have like to see it. Yes we did walk through the stunning whispering gallery, but it had a strict no photo policy so we didn’t take no pics.
@@Trippingthroughadventures
One of you should have walked round until you were opposite each other and then you can whisper to each other and hear it clearly.
My Local Church is called the Crooked Spire. The Spire was made using Green Oak ,When the Lead was added it Twisted and Leaned over a bit .Hence the name Crooked Spire .but it Was over 700 years ago...But the Urban myth is a lot better. One day the Devil was Flying over when he Noticed a Wedding he settled on the Spire and it Twisted. It's Said the next time a Virgen gets Married it will straighten that was over 700 years ago 😮.
That'd be Chesterfield then.....
@@erikadavis2264 Yep .
@@MaxwellMoore-d1u 700 years? A major dearth of virgins in Chesterfield then?! 😀
I LOVE St Paul's. I am in no way religious, but the first time I went there I was so moved by how beautiful it is, I sat and sobbed for half an hour. Every time I go back, I still have tears.
You missed out by not doing the audio tour. The crypt would not have been so creepy to you if you had some information to support what you saw. Those buried down there, particularly Nelson and Wellington, are huge figures in British history, and the fact that they are laid to rest within the walls of the Cathedral shows their importance. It's a huge honour.
I have climbed those steps many times. I hate heights, but the view is something else. I felt a connection to the Cathedral on those "creepy" steps because you are so close to the dome as you climb. I could almost see the handprints of the men who built it, because it was exactly as they had left it hundreds of years before.
As a postie at the time, I was able to climb all those steps at a fair clip without stopping and with an overnight bag on my back. Sadly, I know I will never be able to climb to the top again, but I will always love the Cathedral.
Don't forget to go into the crypts of the church or cathedral, as they often have vaulted ceilings and interesting statues, where famous people like Churchill and others were put before their funeral.
St Paul's crypt is huge and has a café.
St Martins in Trafalgar Square has a restaurant in the crypt. (It looks like a wedding cake).
..It also has free concerts, every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1pm.
With students from the royal college of music playing clasical, jazz etc.
The less people go up an area, the narrower the staircase. It was built before the era of thousands of visitors each day
Yes that does make sense things was different back then.
I love stairs like that, they are in many old buildings, castles, etc. That's just they way they were made back then.
No they are really cool for what they are , I wonder if the iron steps was added later because when you walk out on the first balcony there was and actual stone stair case blocked off outside that may have either been another route or the actual stairs from the original design. But the idea of them carved from stone is amazing.
I accompanied my daughter on her school trip to St Paul’s and that stair case is terrifying lol my daughter started crying half way up. Good thing I was there 😅
replace “daughter” with husband, and “school trip”with vacation and you and tiff has almost the exact same story 😂🤣
I visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the early 1970s before they straightened it a bit. There were no guard rails on most of the floors - I stepped out on one of those without realising it and due to the angle nearly slid off into space as its slippery marble. Far more scary than medieval church steps! You have to understand these ancient places and watch your step. You can't expect elevators in these old places - its the reason one goes sightseeing, to marvel at these ancient structures...don't expect out of context mod cons!
Yes we really did appreciate the historical aspect, we just really thought it be fun to poke fun at ourselves a little bit. That’s why we mention so many other people having zero issue 😂🤣😂
Yep, had a similar experience a few years later, though I didn’t slip. Scary enough, that must have been terrifying!
Yep. Went up it in the 1980s. There was an iron rail at the top, but it is at topple height. The number of fellow tourists pushing their way around makes the whole experience quite interesting. IIRC There is a small staircase at the top with no guard rail. Getting past people who won't wait a second for one to ascend is a joy in itself.
Totally understand your fear. I climbed those stairs when I was a just teenager with loads of energy and as thin as a rake, size 4, agile and fit, and I also found the experience claustrophobic and scary because it was so narrow, steep, and winding. The view from the top was amazing but very exposing to the elements, with just some metal railings restraining from the drop, which added to the vertigo. Well done for making it up and down. And regarding churches having crypts underneath, one of the reasons, apart from the importance of the person buried there, was due to the body snatchers in London.
Body snatchers ? Was this during the time that the colleges were hiring people to steal bodies to do research on them ?
@@Trippingthroughadventures yep, that’s right.
You need to watch the film Lawrence of Arabia, one of the best films ever made- It was the film that inspired Stephem Spielburg to become a director.
We did yesterday, wasn’t disappointed, he really seems like the inspiration for Indiana jones.
@@Trippingthroughadventures
When you reached the top of the wide stairs...to the 'Whispering Gallery' did you whisper each side of the doorway to each other?
That used to be my reason for climbing up the wide steps up to
'The Whispering Gallery', but due to poor health and mobility issues, I can no longer visit such historical and beautiful sites.
Yay! Another video! The interior of the church does look beautiful. That's a lot of stairs!
It was so beautiful, unfortunately life has been getting away of dreams so the videos are coming out slower than what we want lol.
Thank you for the closed captions! I’m deaf and sooo many videos on You Tube frustrate me with garbage captions and these really help me enjoy your journey
Being buried inside a church or other holy/consecrated building was a sign of importance in the past over here. The closer to the altar you could be put, the higher your status or the holier you were. In partical terms it's a way to be visible long after your death, regardless of what your grave looks like. In religious terms, the closer to the altar, the closer to God. It may be different to how people view things now or has over the last century or two, but that's how it was some five to seven centuries or more ago.
Not a Christian myself (or religious in the slightest) but I love visiting cathedrals when I go to cities here in the UK. Something about them really makes you feel the history of the place, more than any castle or museum.
I had climbed the Great Fire of London Monument which is 311 step right before going to St Paul's, so when we saw the stairs we turned right back around 😂 The chapel and the crypt were more than enough to satisfy us!
😅 if I did that in the same day, I’d either be in the hospital or I would have a bottom that just wouldn’t stop 😂🤣😂
That was hilarious. I didn't understand at first what you were saying about the regulations around video-photography, but having read further, I got it. I think...
Since you're Christians (and even if you weren't) I'd highly recommend looking online and checking out the service times next time you're in an English city with a Cathedral. My particular favourite is Evensong. Not 'Evening Prayer' - 'Song' is key here, because it means it'll involve lots of singing and music. This is a great way to truly feel a part of the deeper meaning, atmosphere and beauty of a great Church of England Cathedral, instead of just visiting tourists - and no entrance fee, of course! You'll usually find a very well-trained choir (probably from the Cathedral's own Choir School) a skilled organist and a variety of music taken from many centuries of beautiful English sacred music, which honestly brings the whole place to life, filling all those echoing heights and ornate spaces with glorious sound. You can just feel how the space is designed, and the music written, all to the glory of God, as understood by past generations. If the form of service is unfamiliar to you, just sit a few rows back so you can watch and follow what everyone else is doing. It will give you a truly magical memory to take home with you, I promise!
We wanted to attend on while we were there but our schedule didn’t allow it, next trip we are going to make a special time out to attend a service and have a Sunday roast after. We would like to feel a little more of our faith inside those walls as to (as you said ) a tourist. lol
@@Trippingthroughadventures Sounds like a great plan!
One other thing you should know about St.Pauls is the fact, there are no foundations! Its build directly on the London clay. There is even a system, which keeps the clay moist, because if the clay ever dried out and shrunk, theres a possibility it could collapse! The stairs going up are a work out! But remember back in the day when St.Pauls was built, people were a lot smaller and so didn't require a lot of width. If you every go to Spain and visit Barcelona city, then I recommend that you DONT go up the stairs of one of the spires of the famous Sagrada Familia!
Went up to the top of St Paul's Cathedral in my late teens (or possibly early twenties) - I was young, fit, agile (though still large) and did lots of hill walking at the time.... yep - the stairs were NOT nice! (especially the bits where I had to climb them sideways as they were too narrow).
I'd forgotten all about this combined stair-climbing & fitness-test experience (it was 35+ years ago) so thanks for jogging my memory.
Another great video about your UK experiences - I'm looking forward to seeing your next one (I've recommended your Tower of London video to a few American friends/colleagues who are thinking of visiting us in the near future).
PS REALLY appreciate your respectful attitude to somewhere that is a working church (and not just a monument).
Yes a lot of peoples upset we didn’t do more of the history, but theres certain guidelines the church outlines that we did not meet… we are not going to rob from a church so it is what it is lol.
Great video, like your chilled, down to earth vibe. Keep it up 👍
I say, I really enjoy your videos, you seem like really nice people, I believe there are seven places around the outside of London were there must be a view of St Paul's and I that is why the cheese grater building is that shape, so St Paul's can still be seen from that direction. Looking forward to your next video 🙂🏴
Thank you very much for the kind words we got more to come lol
your honesty has me in stitches...so funny
Thank you, we try not be know it alls and just give real reactions, like most people sometimes it’s heart filled & sometimes it’s really dumb 😂🤣😂
They do let you do the scary metal stairs in America .... inside the Statue of Liberty. We went up there Sept 2013. The spiral stairs were identical, but as we had already done St. Pauls, we had had practise. lol. 🤪😝🙃
You guys are so wholesome, come back and visit a few more places.
Some of our best visits have been clambering around in the rooftop tours of the great cathedrals, such as Wells in Somerset. The close-up look at the cathedral or castle is amazing, as are the birds-eye views of the town below. But if you are terrified of heights / or unfit / or slightly larger than average, then it could be stressful. Getting halfway up and realising it's not so simple just to go straight back down especially when there are loads of people below you. I would say it's worth it. When you eventually get to visit a castle / or castles, I suggest that you research carefully. Some ruined castles can be every bit as terrifying to walk up, especially since most were built a good 800-900 years earlier than St Paul's, and the steps even more precarious. Other castles are more accessible, so check out in advance.
I would advise people to look carefully at videos such as yours before they attempt the climb. If you are claustrophobic and/or scared of heights to any degree, then definitely don't even think about it. These stairs and heights do strange things to peoples' minds. Well done for warning others.
Thank you, I know a lot of people personally that would regret these stairs lol
I remember getting to London really early for an interview, which was near the Monument to the Great Fire of London (that burned down the Old St Paul's cathedral). I thought I would kill some time walking up the Monument. To this day, over 40 years later, I will never forget it had 311 steps, so 622 in total, before my interview. Somehow I still got the job.
I have done the climb 3 times, last year was the last, at the age of 76, I keep myself fit. Did you go to the whispering gallery? Enjoying your videos, have subscribed.
Honestly this is true. Hardwick Hall is a stately home built in the 1500s. A couple of miles away in the valley below runs the M1 motorway.
I used to take groups of elderly Americans round central England.
After visiting Hardwick Hall back on the bus I asked if anyone had any questions.
Twice I was asked " why was it built overlooking a 6 lane freeway"
lol I’m in construction and every now in then we get a customer who is loaded ( got a lot of money) you talk to the person for 5 minutes, you wonder “how in the world did this person have enough sense to make this. 😂🤣😂
"are you ok?" " no i hate you" ahh that brings back memories, my ex used to tell me she hated me every day lol
lol she was mad cuz I told her 500 steps was no big deal and this was very early on in the day, so she was not happy 😂🤣😂. I don’t think she’s ever said that to me out of anger lol.
That also made me laugh!
St Paul’s Cathedral is an awesome building beautiful and majestic ❤
It really is 🤩
@@Trippingthroughadventures
Have you visited
'Westminster Cathedral'? (In London)
Please note: _not_ "Westminister"!)
When I was in NYC I climbed the Statue of Liberty, inside up-to the crown and looked out.
A further London idea, climb the a Monument, and walk out onto the ledge.
I was a lead roofer doing church and cathedral roofs and they all the same on steps
I don’t know if the roofs made of steel but I know something else was to do that 🤣😂🤣😂
I've only ever been to the basement area due to a catering event I worked at, unfortently didn't get to see the rest, so its great watching you both enjoy yourselves :)
Did you visit the American Memorial Chapel in St Pauls? It is behind the High Altar and is dedicated to the 28,000 US soldiers based in the UK during WW2 who died in combat. There is a large book (Roll of Honour) containing their names, rank and service. Each page leaf is turned once each day so that their names can be read. It also has a website which lists the names contained in the book as well as pictures of the Chapel itself.
I use lifts only when have my wife with me as she's disabled. Otherwise i use the stairs. Went to st Paul's in the late 70's beautiful church some wonderful memories. I still have the visitors book I bought when there.
If you think the stairs at St. Paul's are bad wait until you go to St. Paters in the Vatican City! There, to get to the top, you have to go up the stairs which are between the Outer shell and Inner shell of the Dome of the Cathedral! This means that as you go up in a massive spiral the roof over you makes you lean over to one side! Also to compound this is that you cannot stop as all the other tourists are behind you. There are windows, but not many, built into the outer dome where you can sit in while everybody files past! When you do get to the top it is so crowded that you don't get to appreciate the view of Rome! Then you have to walk all the way down leaning as you go!
Don’t say it we will have to do it lol.
I’ve done St Paul’s twice (most recently just a few weeks ago), and St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City a few months ago (I’m in my 40s). My boyfriend and I climb cathedrals and church towers all the time. I’m no fitness freak and don’t do any kind of formal working out, but your body gets used to steps. The first time we did St Paul’s was during the summer, and it was around 30 degrees, so the heat made it absolute murder. The second time was literally a walk in the park. Took us about ten minutes to get to the top.
You missed the whispering gallery. How was the dome built? How does it stay up?
People were much smaller in those days so had smaller feet to fit the stairs. Try the sky garden.
We will try them we actually had a few observation towers across from our hotel in London city… but where’s the danger in that 😂🤣😂
NOT true that people were smaller.
Some of these churches have massive doors, which means the people were much bigger?
It makes no sense. The difference between us & them is a couple of inches at most. The stairs are small to fit in the thickness of the walls, & some are very wide.
@@danielferguson3784 Go on HMS Victory and into Nelson's cabin. Mind your head on the ceiling.
@@robertwhite952 Yes I know Nelson was short, but the headroom on a ship was the same for all, nothing to do with his height, but the amount of wood needed for these ships. The ceilings of many houses
in those days were a lot higher than they are in most modern buildings, which; by your measure; would make people giants, which is also nonsense. They didn't make steps small because they had little feet, but because they had little space, & to conserve materials, & many stairs were much larger than necessary in any case. People, on average, were a little smaller than today; but it was not as much as many suppose, & the dimensions of building features is not a good guide for estimating this.
St Paul's was only Catholic until the Reformation, so since the 16th century it has been an Anglican church (Protestant). Medievil 'old St Pauls was consecrated in 1240. The St Pauls cathedral as seen now was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1668 after the okd one was burnt down in the great fire of london in 1666.
Fun fact... The gunpowder plotters were executed outside St Paul's in 1606
Is there really anything in London that wasn’t affected by the great fire ?
@@Trippingthroughadventures Lots of places still exist in the city of london which were built before the great fire of 1666. its amazing when you find them .
You guys are great. Lovely videos.
Lmao! Definitely not worth climbing those stairs. Loving these videos, looking forward to the next one now lol.
Thank you much for the kind words
I feel for you with the climb in St Pauls - done it a few times now. Aside from the physical toll, I don't mind the first part up to the whispering gallery, or the second part up to the outside base of the dome, but crikey...the last part with the metal spiral staircases and the sheer drop scares me rigid. I can only do it by staring straight ahead, which usually means looking at the bum of anyone who is in front of me, which is strange to say the least....
I’m sorry we broke you ! But you do have great stories to tell your family & friends for years to come 🇬🇧
I was going to say “it didn’t break us”…but well… the videos right here 😅😂🤣😂 it’s was so fun and epic to look back on you nailed it lol.
It’s an adventure and you’ll never forget it lol 😂 I’m from Yorkshire and used to visiting lots of places like this going down the steps is always worse than going up! 😊
Cathedrals and Minsters in the UK and in Europe have small chapels, some reserved for rich families, who often pay for them to be built, which are used for private and smaller services rather than using the whole of the cathedral. Our churches and Cathedrals also have graveyards, but important people were (are) often honoured by being buried in the house of God itself. Imagine if Queen Elizabeth had just been buried in a graveyard.
So, the chapel connecting to the crypt wasn’t significant to the crypt it’s just for smaller events ?
Most Anglican churches of all sizes have a Lady Chapel named in honour of St.Mary.
@@neuralwarp And they are the largest chapels, not the small ones I was referring to, built or sponsored by the aristocracy to shield them from the dirty, smelly plebs who worked for them.
@@neuralwarp By the way, many if not all smaller Anglican churches do not have lady chapels as in cathedrals and larger churches, and those smaller churches are in the majority, so I would not say 'most'. However, they may have a side altar dedicated to Mary.
That '80s comment had me lol for real, as while watching your videos I had been thinking about the pubs in my local town that I went drinking in as a twenty something. It could be so cliquey, unwelcoming and downright intimidating! I did Route 66 back in 1996 with a group of friends, to begin with, we made the mistake of going to the CBD thinking it was like "down town" in the UK or Europe, we eventually realised that in US cities it is the suburbs where things happen not the centre. I remember going to a wonderful bar in one city on a Friday night which was so refreshing because of the mix of younger and older people all having a good time. Ohhhhh and I am with you on those stairs, you wouldn't catch me going up them for all the tea in China, I did go up the Sears Tower and also the Gateway Arch....... interesting 😱
So American bars change through out the land you are in here in the states, here in our part of Florida, here we have
tourist/sports bars ( mixture of food and drinks very well themed and usually safe) then you have random biker style bars ( usually a lot rougher in appearances but despite the name, bikers tend to be some of the friendliest people you will meet)
Then you have your rougher bars that are run down
Then you have your Latin bars ( pretty common in Florida from Orlando down if you don’t speak Spanish your going to have a 50/50 shot of getting a drink lol)
Some are safe some are very very dangerous. If you watch the news it’s pretty easy to see which ones are safe and which ones are not lol.
Lawrence of Arabia(Thomas Edward Lawrence) CB DSO (16 August 1888 - 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915-1918) against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, a title used for the 1962 film based on his wartime activities.
I’ve been up there, sure it’s not to modern standards but it’s 400 years old. If you didn’t like that the iron stairs on the Eiffel Tower it is terrifying.
I’m probably going to film my heart attack on the Effel tower one day 😂🤣😂
This is hilarious! I can’t stop laughing. Funny Americans!
We thought it was pretty funny lol
Did you see the coverage of the late Queen Elizabeth II funeral. Over the days of mourning you would have seen many great sights of London. She had her laying in State inside Westminster Hall, for 4 days, then carried by gun carriage to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral service, after in procession up Whitehall, the Mall, past Buckingham Palace, to Wellington Ach. She was transferred to a Hurst for the drive to Winsor Castle, and a service at St. Georges Chapel, to remove the chattels of office of state, and lowered down into the Crypt, where she rests in peace.
I don't know how well America covered the events, but they can be seen on RUclips.
*hearse* carries coffins... (_Not_ "hurst".)
You are not alone. Several years ago whilst doing what you did, a tourist, an American Lady, ‘froze’ and could neither move up or down. Those of us below her had to evacuate, whilst they talked her down, I guess.
The stairs are like it because it's old, no health and safety back then. Why is a crypt weird and scary ? It's normality back in the Day throughout Europe 🤔. The closer you were buried to the church the closer you were to God and protected. Great video but over reaction to normality regarding old things.
Thames is pronounced Tems
My brother was a tour guide, and yes he was asked why the castle was built nr an airport, n ot urban myth
We actually question ourselves on that same thing you just questioned us on, “why did we think the crypt was weird? why would it be better if they were next to the church and not under it” in the video lol as far as being scary any type of grave yard is creepy lol, keep in mind terms like crypt is not used in America unless it’s in a scary movie type setting. So we obviously relate to a more eerie type feel than Brit’s do, that’s why we found it so amusing when the person said it with such a chipper attitude lol.
@@Trippingthroughadventures As my father told me when a little boy and scared as we walked past a grave yard “the dead will never hurt you, the living might but the dead never will”.
@@Trippingthroughadventures you've been watching far too many Hollywood horror films 😂. Keep up the good work, you are a great couple and love the respect you show for architecture and history. All the best my friends 😉🙂👍
I went up those stairs in St Pauls Cathedral. It was a once in a life time thing as in I would never want to do it again. You were lucky, you didn't have people coming down trying to pass you. Did you go to the whispering gallery? You whisper into the wall and people on the opposite side put there ear next to the wall and can hear you.
I've been to St. Pauls and did the tower walk. It isn't that bad from what i remember. I enjoyed it a lot and found the Whispering Gallery very interesting. A beautiful builiding. You should try doing a moderately difficult Mountain or Coastal route in England, Wales or Scotland. They will test your mettle a bit more maybe. Best wishes from The Midlands, U.K. 🙋♂😊
The original cathedral burnt down in 1666 during the Great fire of London. The one you visited was a design of Sir Christopher Wren and he started the building also with much more of London. The closeness of the tomb to the alter reflects the status and importance of the occupants. You will have walked on tombs when you went along the knave. If you were not famous enough or wealthy enough then you might be entombed in the crypt, under the knave, or lower in status, just outside the walls.
Did you go up in the dome sufficiently to be able to use the whispering gallery where a whispered comment can be heard on the other side of dome? There is a famous photo of St. Paul’s from world war 2 where above it can be seen the tails left behind by the fighting aircraft, the RAF and the German Luftwaffe.
What did you think about the whispering Gallery? Brilliant, ain't it?
Saint Paul's Cathedral is the Home of the Protestant Church of England. So glad you liked it, crypt and all. Not quite the same as the Bone Chaple Crypt in the Roman Catholic Church in Rome!
Sorry the lift, (Elevator on the way up, de-elevate on the way down), was being serviced on the day of your visit but it is 350 years old and even with British Engineering, it needs a break some time!
And the phrase "We WAS terrified" should read "We WERE terrified"!
Your poster who was merely pointing out that pub etiquette can get quite full-on at times and most locals have sessions that start early, finish late, Lock-Ins, Shut-Ins, Afters, proper sessions, where the local plod might even pop in for a pint! They are not for the faint hearted, those that couldn't stay the course!
There is nothing like having a proper sesh and drinking all night, Newcastle Brown in one hand and a full english in the other and then straight to work at 06:30! It's ok, i didnt drive, until the return journey!
So yes it was a very beautiful place, but alas no pictures allowed lol,
yes the bone chapel would be amazing to check out
lol the lift is fine, there was a lift but I think it only made it up to the whispering gallery. The rest you was on your own lol.
It was so hard doing this video because there were so many rules that we didn’t want to break, that would of came across so disrespectful to the church if we did, so we really had to keep it to our feelings and not so much the history. So this video even though it had a good laugh, we didn’t get to talk about the things we truly wanted to, but we got tons of material to move forward with.
Yes indeed... "WAS" instead of 'WERE' grinds my gears every time !! 🥺🇺🇲😟
🤔🏴❤️🇬🇧😏🖖
I'm a non-believer, but St. Paul's is certainly an awe-inspiring feat of construction and actual completed work, it's stunning.
I've done the steps to the top and... yeah, there's a lot of steps. Can't help thinking of that scene in In Bruges though 🤣
You guys look pretty good as tourists, you're properly interested and into doing the learning - pretty good advert for Americans.
It's weird, we do take a lot of this stuff for granted, but castles, monuments and constructions that are hundreds of years old, it's just what I grew up with and around, but yeah, even as a non-believer, there's an awe at St. Paul's.
I did a visit there accompanying an Autistic adult, right to the top - he was in much better physical condition than me + I was in good shape back then. We got right to the top, looked out, got some photos - he was big into architecture and I said to him "what do you think, impressive?" and his reply was "I need the toilet" 🤣a couple of minutes to catch my breath and back down the stairs to find a loo - damn knees and cardio 🤣🤣🤣
English Royalty are married in Westminster Abbey and not st. Paul's Cathedral. Lawrence of Arabia was a reaĺ person and my ex wife's grandfather was his driver. If you are afraid of heights, try watching Fred Dibna steeple jack laddering a very high chimney.
Was Charles not 'royal' when he married Diana?
Did you notice at some corners and stairs there are some names carved onto the wall and the stairs from people hundreds of years ago it's a cathedral haha there is cathedrals in Glasgow as well some nice craftsmanship.
it's a shame u spent more time on your walk in the video instead of the majesty of the building and the very famous people who are buried there !!
So we actually didn’t but, while we was there we were not monetized, and in order to talk about the history and create a show that does, you really need to go get the church’s permission to do so. I’m not big on going against church’s so we talked about our own interactions and not so much the history, although the majority of what we originally had was about the history, but it felt disrespectful to post. This is the compromise we came to. That’s why it was only pictures in the crypt and chapel and we filmed only us on the stairs to honor their rules.
I’m from Wales 🏴 in the UK and I’ve seen St Paul’s Cathedral from a distance but I’ve never been inside. It’s a beautiful building built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Possibly one of the most famous people to be buried there is Lord Horatio Nelson who defeated Napoleon’s forces at the Battle of Trafalgar, the most famous Naval battle in history. Unfortunately Nelson was killed onboard his Flagship HMS Victory, which is on display at Portsmouth Naval Museum, and yes, you can actually go aboard her and experience living history. It’s a magical experience alongside visiting Henry VIII’s Flagship the Mary Rose, a wooden Tudor warship. The Mary Rose is in several pieces given that it’s 513 years old !!! However you can still see her cargo of weapons including guns and Longbows - the rifle of its time. I would highly recommend that you travel outside of London and visit England - Portsmouth Naval Museum as stated above, the Roman Baths at Bath, the Cotswolds for the majesty of the English countryside, Liverpool for its cultural heritage, York for its Viking heritage and stunning York Minster Cathedral, Scotland for Edinburgh Castle, the hundreds of gorgeous Lochs, stunning scenery, castles and culture. Ireland for the beautiful coastline - the Giants Causeway is magnificent, the amazing historical city of Dublin, the beautiful Irish countryside and of course the pubs. Visit Wales, my home country, for the Castles, the beautiful beaches and coastline, the mountains and lakes of Snowdonia (1 of 3 National Parks), the many Islands off the coast like in Scotland and of course the people ;)
That’s a definite no I always send the family and tell them to take photos. Last one was in Vienna. 🤣🤣🤣
You and tiffs on the same page lol
Love your videos and your reflective thoughts and curiosity. You are a lovely couple. And if you get any pompous or critical comments from odd people, just ignore them. Some folk are way too serious and don't understand that you are sharing your vacation videos, and not creating a history and culture documentary just for them.
We love it, we live on a world that people think it takes a smile and a “weee” for you to enjoy it, but moments like that will be in your memory forever lol. There’s a lack of common sense people lack. The idea of “ oh you didn’t like it? Well that’s because 🤬” No…. We did like it, we actually loved it. These things being so unique and different and kind of scary is why we did love it. We were freaking out walking up a 300 year old staircase up to amazing view of one of the greatest cities in the world…. What’s not to love lol
Thank you for your charming videos about the UK,. St Pauls is a wonderful, interesting building and my brother was fortunate enough to be married at the Chapel of the Crypt some years ago. Some of the interesting people who's tombs are there include Vice-Admiral (Lord) Horatio Nelson who's unconventional, inspirational tactics proved decisive in the Napoleanic and French Revolutionary wars including the famous Battle of Trafalgar victory, Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley (Lord Wellington) who besides being the Prime Minister of England twice, was a great Commander of the Army and defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo thereby ending the Napoleonic wars in 1815. Also Sir Christopher Wren, the famous architect and Sir Alexander Fleming who discovered the world's first anti-biotic (Penicillin) have tombs there.
I’m still catching up sorry, but may interest you to know St Paul’s featured in the late Fred Dibnah’s TV series called “Magnificent Monuments” in the episode called “Places of Worship”. One particularly interesting thing he says is that there’s a perception that the skills necessary to make something so ornate have been unlearned and lost in time. However that isn’t the case… the most ornate elements of these structures are also the most fragile and the most exposed, so they undergo constant repair and renovation, and he shows some of the crafts people who work all day long replicating worn out elements of these buildings so they can be maintained.
A great and current example is the Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben (the largest bell). It’s recently undergone a massive renovation and looks absolutely stunning now compared to how it looked before. They managed to locate the original construction plans in the national archives and reinstated some elements that were there originally but had been lost in earlier renovations, for example the numerals were painted blue again which really makes the clock faces pop in a way in which it never did before.
St Pauls Basillica in Rome is similar, getting to the top requires climbing through some strange angles
I took myself on a trip arround St Pauls, two bits had me in bits. At Nelsons tomb it was surrounded by Spannish students, while walking in the roof it was full of German students. If you know some of our history you will understand why i laughed. Nelson was our strongest navel comander who had victory over the Spanish Amada.
The Germans in the roof was a referance to WW2 during the Blitz a bomb got stuck in the roof, a brave fire watch man unlodged it and saved the roof so having a bunch of German students shows how times have changed.
Larance of Arabia is a must see film, he was a truly amazing man he was in our army. He died sadly in a motorbike crash in England. He is much admired so diserves his place in St Pauls.
Thought it was Sir Francis Drake who defeated the Spanish Armada not Nelson.
@@chriswhitcomb8675 It was actually a fleet combined of French and Spanish
@@mikeymikeFType Agreed but it wasn’t Nelson, he was at the battle of Trafalgar years later.
@@chriswhitcomb8675 The battle of Trafalgar involved the Royal Navy against a combined fleet of French and Spanish
@@mikeymikeFType Sir Francis Drake is always associated with the defeat of the Spanish Armada during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and Horatio Nelson with the battle of Trafalgar years later regardless of the combined nationalities of the opposing force. That was my point.
To your point about Windsor Castle being so close to Heathrow Airport, I've seen so many comments about that on RUclips videos over the years. But the interesting thing is, the person making the comment generally claims that it was THEY who heard "this American lady" ask why they built Windsor Castle so close to the airport! By that reckoning, someone must be overheard asking that question every few weeks! 😁
Yes it’s a growing trend in America these days, the whole “ don’t let knowledge get in the way of a good debate “ should be our new slogan here.
You recognised Lawrence's name..... but not Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, or Sir Christopher Wren?
..is he the beef Wellington guy? lol
Respect to you two for climbing those stairs. I've never actually visited St Paul's Cathedral myself but I have heard of the 'whispering gallery' which I understand faces into the dome. I don't know if anyone answered your question about TE Lawrence but he's actually buried in Dorset, not far from the cottage in which he lived. It's a lovely part of Britain if you get the chance to visit. 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
The whispering done was unspeakably beautiful unfortunately no pictures allowed at all. Thank you for the information !
Oh no! Sorry about that! No problem, we’ll chisel out a bit more of St Paul’s Cathedral so the Americans can get through!
Omg that would be great, thank you, do you think we can get a discount for next trip to try in out 🤣😂🤣
Did you not visit the whispering gallery?
We did but strict no camera policy
Do hope you guys enjoyed yourselves though hopefully able to put the stairs behind you.
I am afraid you got it wrong, you should never be afraid of heights or falling, they will never hurt you, it’s the bump at the end is the problem😁.
Okay yea , that’s fair 😇😂🤣😂
The Polar Bear didn't survive very long in London. There were lots of other animals over the years, until they were removed & a proper zoo was built in the 19 th century.
It's best to read a guide book if you're visiting someplace!
You know this is the only place we didn’t read the guide book, why….i couldn’t tell you. We just walk right by it, full audio tour. We didn’t do that any where else but here… if I had to guess, I think we was so taken back from what we was looking at we kind of, just walked to it to look at it, not being able to video, I don’t think people get the true idea of how astounded we was by this place. As far as the polar bear, it was mention on the tour, as far as many, many, many other unbelievable things lol.
Fun fact :- notice the spiral staircases rotate to the right when ascending, this is copied from spiral staircases in Castle towers and is a defensive tactic. ( most people are right handed) it’s much harder for a right handed person to use their sword while attempting to attack up a spiral staircase and easier for a right handed person to defend from the upper part of the staircase.
Well done you for tackling the stairways. I'm familiar with them, but really do not like heights.
I wonder.
In the UK growing up from the 70's onward I've been through a few fire drills in old schools. Most of the stairs were steel and zig-zag or spiral.
Also we were raised on climbing up and down old castles and cathedrals before health and safety. It's much safer now, lol
PS I'm also 5' 8" ;-)
John Thomas is buried in St. Paul's. Fun fact : in the UK your "John Thomas" is your male member. There's a statue of John Thomas in the Cathedral. If you look at it carefully, you'll know why the British call it your John Thomas. 😂
St Paul’s is my favourite building in the world, I go there every time I go to London..it’s become a thing. I’m not religious at all, but St Paul’s feels like the Church of the people, whereby Westminster Abbey is the Church of the Monarchy; both amazing places.
The steps spiral clockwise in castles and cathedrals etc, as most people are right handed it gives the advantage to a defender as apposed to the assailant.
You come to soak in the history in a medieval building that was built in 1675 then make the stupid comment why isn’t there a lift ( elevator). It’s not a church it’s a cathedral, churches have vicars cathedrals have bishops. The icing on the cake is Lawrence of Arabia is probably a Disney character, if you did your research before you post comments, you will get more respect. It’s brings to mind that famous quote from one of your fellow countrymen when commenting on the jets flying over Windsor Castle on there approach to Heathrow Airport, ( Why did they build the Castle so close to the Airport).
I’m not trolling you I’m just a proud Englishman.
a lot of people got the joke about the elevator, you didn’t though
Cathedral is a type of church not a different entity look up the definition. Never compared Lawrence of Arabia as a Disney character, if you were aware of Disney, there’s a park (formerly MGM studious ) that’s completely dedicated to old movies and early years of Hollywood.
I’m aware it wasn’t a troll, a troll post would have more validity and not comment on obvious jokes in fear it would make their selves look ignorant lol. Don’t worry, watch our vlogs, you’ll see my humor is very dry, sometimes I seem serious… figured you as an English man would catch on quicker.
I don't believe you walked up all those stairs and never visited the Whispering Gallery while you were up there!
We did just zero photos allowed there
About signs with number of steps, these can also be spotted seen at certain deep tube stations that do not have an escalator, only a lift like Covent Garden station, there are Edwardian cast iron spiral stairs, the sign advises approx 193 steps to dissuade you, so approx equivalent to a 13 storey building.