Big Ben: Up Close & Personal 🔔

Today we had the absolute thrill of climbing all 334 steps inside the iconic Elizabeth Tower—an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Standing in the bell chamber as Big Ben struck
1 PM was nothing short of magical; the deep, resonant chime echoing through the tower was both powerful and humbling. To be so close to such a world-famous symbol of London history, feeling its vibrations in real time, filled me with awe and joy. This wasn’t just a tour—it was a moment of pure exhilaration, etched forever in memory.

Betcha didn’t know:

Big Ben isn’t the tower – Most people call the whole structure Big Ben, but technically, Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell, not the clock or the tower. The tower itself was originally called the Clock Tower and was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.

Big Ben cracked almost immediately – The Great Bell first chimed in 1859, but cracked just two months later. Rather than replace it, they simply rotated the bell slightly and used a lighter hammer, which is why Big Ben has its distinctive tone today.

The clock is famously accurate – Its timekeeping is regulated by old British pennies placed on the pendulum. Adding or removing a coin can adjust the clock’s timing by 0.4 seconds per day.

The clock faces are enormous – Each dial is 7 meters (23 feet) in diameter, and the minute hands are over 4 meters (14 feet) long—about the length of a London double-decker bus!

I absolutely loved this experience, honestly one of the best experiences of MY LIFE! Therefore this entire blog is dedicated to The beautiful ELIZABETH TOWER & bold BIG BEN ❤️🤍💙🇬🇧

(PS: No photos allowed on Tour so I found some representative from the web 🙃)もっと詳しく