Up the Abbey!
Ringing
Originally uploaded by bluebus. Pat and I managed to get on a tour of the tower of St.Albans Abbey. It's only done once a month. They show you up two flights of spiral stairs to a large oak beamed room high in the cathedral which is where the bells are rung, the Bell Chamber. The floor isn't original apparently as it was redone in 1350. We got an excellent hands on talk about English Church bells.
From there we were taken up into the belfry which has 12 bells arranged in a kind of pyramid, which is quite scary when you consider each bell weighs a few tonnes. The very top of the tower was reached via yet more spiral stairs.
It was a very interesting and unusual tour but I was glad to get the coffee and cake when we got back down.
Martin