The Monument

Seriously, it’s called “The Monument,” as if it were the only one in a city where there are monuments than Starbucks.  Erected to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666 (you can’t live in London for very long without understanding  that the Fire of 1666 is probably the single most significant event in the city’s history), it’s a hollow column.  It’s located on an obscure side street, not far from where the fire is thought to have started.  I probably passed the street four or five times before I noticed The Monument.  It was designed, like seemingly every building from the period, by Christopher Wren. 

 For £3, you get the privilege of climbing 311 perilous spiral steps to the top.  You can see in the sides of the column slot windows for the staircase.  You share the steps with the people going the other direction, so periodically you need to step to one side to let them pass.  Inevitably there is an 8-year old trying to count each of the steps, but they typically give up around eleventy-three.  

 Once up top, you have a panoramic view of the city, obscured somewhat by the chicken-wire cage around the viewing deck (presumably not part of Wren’s design).  Be prepared for treacherous winds. 

 Atop the column is a brass sculpture representing flames.  Legend has it, before the wire cage was put up, people who jumped from the top didn’t hit the pavement, but rather bounced off the large pedestal at the base (ouch).  

When you get back down to the bottom of the steps, a nice man hands you a certificate acknowledging that you have made the journey up and down, likely never to repeat the feat.