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The trip to Big Ben was organised in liaison with the local MP Robert Buckland.  The unit have previously visited Westminster on a couple of occasions over the past few years and enjoyed tours of the Houses of Parliament where we have experienced the pomp and ceremony of the day, including a look at the House of Lords and the House of Commons where we spent time on the balcony overseeing the proceedings. Later that day saw the items discussed on the six o’clock news.  The previous visit organised took us on a tour of Parliament and the Jewel Tower followed by a special visit to the front door of 10 Downing Street.    

This latest outing, on the 30^th August, was to climb the clock tower and to see Big Ben, which was very much enjoyed by staff and cadets. Technically, Big Ben is the massive bell inside the clock tower, which weighs more than 13 tons (13,760 kg).    

The rather gruelling climb was interrupted half way up the climb of 334 stone spiral steps to hear some very interesting facts and figures about the tower, the clock and the bells.  Each dial is 23 feet square (49.15 square metres)  Big Ben's minute hands are 14 feet long (4.26 metres) and the figures on the face of Big Ben are two feet high (0.6 metres) A special light above the clock faces is also illuminated when parliament is in session. Big Ben's timekeeping is strictly regulated by a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum.

The Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834. In 1844, it was decided the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament should include a tower and a clock. The bell was refashioned in Whitechapel in 1858 and the clock first rang across Westminster on 31 May 1859. Just two months later, Big Ben cracked. A lighter hammer was fitted and the bell rotated to present an undamaged section to the hammer. Big Ben has rarely stopped, even after a bomb destroyed the Commons chamber during the Second World War, the clock tower survived and Big Ben continued to strike the hours. The chimes of Big Ben were first broadcast by the BBC on 31 December 1923, a tradition that continues to this day but only live at 6am and 6pm now.    

Once we caught our breath we continued the climb to the clock faces and clock itself, where we saw the mechanical clock in action and then up further to the bells where, once we had our ear defenders in place, we saw and heard the bells in action.

 Following the visit to Big Ben we enjoyed R&R in the park next to the Marine Society and Sea Cadets Headquarters where we had the opportunity to meet with Captain Mark Windsor, Captain of the Sea Cadets Corp.   He was very interested to hear of our splendid day out and to see our new minibus with full livery. This bus has only recently been acquired by the unit. 

Photos of Big Ben are available from  http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/bigben/ 

We hope to do a second trip in the new year for those cadets that did not have the opportunity to join this day out.