London, England - St. Dunstan In The East - August 2024

When I am getting ready to travel, one of my favorite resources I use to research crazy places and things to do is the website Atlas Obscura. While researching London, I found the ruins of St. Dunstan In The East.

It's sort of located between London Bridge and the Sky Garden, right in the heart of where the Great Fire of London struck. That's actually part of what makes St. Dunstan so unique. As the first photo below relays, the original church was built around 1100. It was severely damaged in 1666 in the Great Fire of London. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt it after the damage, but it was again damanged horribly - this time in the Blitz in 1941. It sat in ruins until 1967, when the City decided to make it into a public garden that grows up around the ruins.

It is haunting, beautiful, a bit spooky even in the middle of the day. When I saw the photos on Atlas Obscura, I immediately knew I wanted to go, and ideally to get a few photos of A there. She is a history buff about World War II, so I thought she also might like it. She got a bit sick of me getting photos, but it was also just such a unique environment. I've again debated using one of these photos for the State Fair, but not sure which (if any) would work.

The sign resides in the garden to educate the public about its history.

The church was created in Norman times, and the windows are so incredible.

You can somewhat see the present-day architecture through that window, and the contrast is so fascinating.

A little better shot of the city beyond the window.

Pigeons are rats with wings. That is all.

Please don't touch the rats with wings.

So unique and fascinating.

Isn't it so moody?! It's like a visualization of a 13-year-old's inner life.

The texture really just pops on the cobblestone in black and white.