Open House – Crossness
I’ve been to Crossness before, but a guy named Rodney, kindly gave me a lift to one of London”s two cathedrals of sewage, I decided to accept it. The other cathedral is Abbey Mills.
It was heaving with people and the only low point was waiting for the mini-bus in the heavy rain, to get the train home.
The Anonymous Widower 
What an amazing place to be able to walk around in. Great snaps.
Comment by Invisible Mikey | September 25, 2012 |
If you ever come to London, it’s one of the must-see sites. It’s not open every day and they only steam an engine on summer Sundays. London is full of sites like this. It was free last Sunday, as it was Open House, but normally, it’s under a tenner. You realise nearly all government and local authority museums are free to enter. But Crossness is owned by a trust, which is basically a large number of enthusiasts, who like digging sand out of old steam engines.
Comment by AnonW | September 25, 2012 |
I have only been once, from Dec. 15th through Boxing Day of 2001. Because Londoners know so well how to keep Christmas, the trip was transformative. I sang in over twenty different places, from St. Paul’s to the Albert Hall, to small Veteran’s halls and even in some locals. After I retire in 2016, I’m sure I’ll return, and I would like to during better weather. London is my favorite large city. (I have also traveled in Yorkshire, and Northern Wales, and loved them too.)
Comment by Invisible Mikey | September 25, 2012 |
If you plan things properly, London can be very affordable. I’ve met North Americans and Antipodeans, who have come for three months in January to March, hiring a holiday flat, that would be three times the price in summer. Remember London rarely gets very cold and because it’s further north than New York, North Americans think it’s cold. So good value is to be had.
Did you sing in St. Bartholomew the Great, which is my favourite church in central London? After late 2014, the Olympic Park will be reopened and that will be a good place to visit.
Where are you from?
Comment by AnonW | September 25, 2012 |
Yes, we’ve considered flat rental, and also home exchange (gratis exchange between two owners for a vacation period), since we live where the view is spectacular – water, mountains and big trees, in a Victorian seaport called Port Townsend, Washington. Our small town has the largest number of intact and restored buildings and homes dating from 1875-1905 in the US, outside of San Francisco. It’s a popular tourist destination from May through September.
As it happens, I sang in St. Bartholomew’s on Christmas eve, at the Great Vigil, in the front row next to the arch beneath the organ. We had visited earlier in the week and were struck by the pervasive, almost tactile sense of deep peace in the church building. We discussed it with the Verger, who agreed and said it was a benefit from being a continuous place of prayer for so long. I’m glad we share an enjoyment of that!
Comment by Invisible Mikey | September 25, 2012
My children used to go to a school, where the headmistress was the vicar’s wife at St. Barts, so the Nativity Play was held there. Magical! I, myself, am not religious, but I do appreciate good religious buildings.
My wife gave her body to medical science and for that reason, I always pop in when I pass London’s third Anglican cathedral; Southwark.
https://anonw.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/londons-forgotten-cathedral/
Comment by AnonW | September 25, 2012 |
[…] I see a museum and engine like this, I do think it sad that London’s massive sewage engines at Crossness were just filled with sand and abandoned in the […]
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