That one Place you Always Visit

Whether you are a travel photographer or any traveller really, its nice to have that one place you always visit when you return to a city or country. 

For me, revisiting and photographing places over time reconnects me to past memories, building layers of perspective one on top of the other. Sometimes if feels like I am building a single memory that extends over decades of time. Perhaps a better way to explain it is that several distinct memories blur into a single memory, you know when you can't quite put your finger on which visit that was? 

Its a strange thing, but for me its familiarity and nostalgia rolled into a memory and the anticipation of future visits. Sometimes I am alone, sometimes with my family. But always with my camera. 

So, I have this one place in London, England that I always visit when I am there. Every time I have visited London, I have gone there, paid the small fee to enter, climbed the stairs, sat in the pews and listened. I plan to visit this spot on my next visit, and the visit thereafter. 

The great thing about this spot is that its actually pretty quiet. It's surprising that so few people come here now, although past movie fame as probably caused some ups in visitation. Those days seem to be past however, and so that's nice for me. 

Temple Church, London

So where is this or what is this spot? It's the landmark Temple Church in the heart of London - just south of Fleet Street. Its an amazing spot. Busy fleet street with its traffic and crowds is only steps away from this quiet, peaceful location. I wonder if in the time of the Templars the area was as peaceful? I suspect that it was bustling and full of life, very different from today. 

Temple Church was built in the 12th century by the Knights Templar. It has two main sections, the Round Church which was inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the rectangular Chancel. 

The Church suffered significant damage during the Blitz in World War 2, but has been beautifully restored.  Walking through the Temple Church one still feels the history dripping from the walls, from the beautiful stained glass windows, out of the intricate details of the ancient Christian faith. 

Even the courtyard outside the Temple Church is beautiful, peaceful and quit. Sitting here is like coming back to the centre of things after floundering in the chaos of life. 

I have visited many other landmark churches in London, including St. Paul's and Westminster but nothing hits like Temple Church. Those larger buildings are busy, crowded and immense. They take work and certainly don't project peace, at least in their current form. I wonder what it would be like to sit in St. Paul's alone? I feel like it would still be overwhelming.

Temple Church is that place I always visit. 

Views of Temple Church

Round Church






Chancel







Courtyard & Exterior 





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Location: Temple, City of London, London EC4Y 7BB, UK

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