Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square
A photo of Nelson’s Column in a blog about London might not be the most creative thing to do. Following the photo with a post about Trafalgar Square will definitely land me into cliché land. But truth is, there’s a reason Trafalgar is such a London icon, and I’m going to run with it.
Even if you are not from London or have never visited London, you probably know what Trafalgar Square is and how it looks like. Much like the Big Ben and the London Eye (or should that be EDF Energy London Eye?), it has become one of those images that can be found on most postcards and tourists’ memory cards.
I’m not going to go on and on about the history of the square, that it originally was the location of the Royal Mews, that the hawks have been there, that the steps were put there to level the square and make it more people-friendly, that Nelson’s statue was put in place in 1843 and the lions in 1867, or that the smallest police station is inside a lamp post on the southeast corner of the square. The official website for Trafalgar Square has loads of information on practicalities, history and curiosities.
One thing I am going to highlight out of everything the square has to offer, and that is the Fourth Plinth.
Trafalgar Square has four plinths, three of them have statues, the fourth one (the Northwestern one) doesn’t. It was meant to have a statue of William IV but the needed funds could not be reached due to the unpopularity of the king. Nowadays the fourth plinth is used for temporary exhibitions. The current one is Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, and the two next ones for 2012 and 2013 have already been chosen.
