Last year, as I realized that I was stuck on St. Pancras International for some hours, I was not worrying too much. St. Pancras is located near King’s Cross Station. As a Harry Potter fan, I wanted to use the occasion to look for the Platform 9 3/4, which I found by the way (>>>). But it also turned out that St. Pancras is quite a beautiful place to walk around, too.
St. Pancras International is a huge London railway station hosting Euro Star trains (trains on the first floor, the entrance at the ground level), Thameslink connections (underground) and high-speed trains (ground level). It is located near the Kings Cross station (practically across the street).
The station was generously refurbished a couple of years ago to accommodate the Euro Star trains. It is a combination of modern solutions and Victorian architecture. A huge and splendid building, the Victorian style is neighboring the station at its front. It is considered an integral part of the station. It is a hotel (St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, formerly Midland Grand Hotel), in short, called ‘the chambers’ as for some time the building was turned into railway offices.
There are some lovely pieces of art inside. A massive sculpture of a couple in love is located precisely at the front of the Eurostar platform on the station upper level. The official name of this 9-meter tall bronze statue by Paul Day is ‘the Meeting Place‘. Was unveiled 8 years ago during a re-opening ceremony of the station and the official launch of the Eurostar trains in London. Its foot is decorated by reliefs. You can also see a man in a hurry, who – seemingly – looks up to check the train timetable. The St. Pancras website says the man was a famous poet and a railway enthusiast, who engaged himself to save the Station from demolition. At a ground level, you can listen to some piano music performed live – a piano, bit used but still in good shape, is available to those who would like to play publicly.
