Big Ben (Queen Elisabeth Tower)

Hi everyone!

So, if you are looking to visit London for just one day, Queen Elizabeth Tower, better known to you and I as "Big Ben", is a must see. Originally named The Clock Tower, but renamed Queen Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years as the Queen of England.

Situated in the heart of Westminster "Big Ben" is hard to miss. Built in 1859, the tower stands at an impressive 315 feet or 96 meters and is a perfect place to start a tour of London’s most famous and recognizable sights. For anyone wishing to visit the tower the closest underground station is Westminster Underground Station which is on the Circle and District Lines (Yellow & Green) and also the Jubilee Line (Grey).

Unfortunately the tower is not accessible and all tours have been suspended until 2020 for repairs and refurbishment. A 29million pound refurbishment project started this year to repair the clock’s hands, mechanism and pendulum. In addition a lift will be installed within the tower to aid those who will visit when the tower reopens and the building itself will be updated and brought into line with modern safety requirements.

The iconic tower is one of the most widely recognizable landmarks not only in London but in England as a whole, largely due to the four-faced clock. And the famous chiming of the Great Bell on every hour. The Tower has been used in the backdrop of many famous films and television shows, for example: Mary Poppins (1964), The Thirty-Nine Steps (1978), 28 Days Later (2002), V for Vendetta (2005), Spectre (2015), London Has Fallen (2016) and many, many more. In fact if you have watched the film "28 Days", later you will see Westminster Bridge and the surrounding area completely empty as the streets were shut down for roughly 2 hours for this film.

Rumor has it that the name "Big Ben" originated from a politician by the name of Benjamin Hall who oversaw the construction of the Great Bell inside the tower. Supposedly Sir Benjamin Hall was short in stature and round like a bell, this likeness resulted in the Great Bell being named after him. While this is often debated, it does make for an interesting story.

The bell itself is weights around 13. 5 tons or 13, 500 kg and when it was first tested in October 1857 it cracked and was replaced 7 months later. Once again under testing the new bell cracked, however the problem was soon resolved when an engineer turned the bell a quarter clockwise and decided to use a lighter hammer to ring the bell. It is this crack that gives the bell its distinctive sound, which on a quiet evening can be heard as far Tower Bridge.

The official name of the clock is The Great Westminster Clock and it is accurate to within one second. When the clock was completed in 1859, it was described as “the prince of time-keepers: the biggest, most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world”. Each of the four clock-faces is 23 feet or 7 meters in diameter, with the hour hand reaching 9 feet and the minute hand 14 feet. If you look close enough at the clock-faces you will see a Latin inscription “DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMIAM” which translates to Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.

As "Big Ben" is in the centre of Westminster it is extremely close to some other famous sights you might want to visit, for example, The London Eye, The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abby which we shall explore in later posts.

"Big Ben" is one of my favorite landmarks in all of London, despite the fact you are not able to access the tower you can still take amazing photos from any angle. Whether you are standing on Westminster Bridge, in Parliament Square, or even if you have just finished your City Cruises Tour of the River Thames, "Big Ben" is a prominent figure and makes for a wonderful background in and photo. I do recommend taking photos from Parliament Square as it is usually less busy and makes for a great photo. Also, while Westminster Bridge may seem the most popular it is often packed with people trying to use their selfie sticks, and if you expect people to wait or respect the fact you are trying to take a photo... think again.

If you have any questions or any information you think could be interesting feel free to comment and stay tuned for more of my insights into visiting London.

Thanks for checking out my post.

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