Three Eleven

"Three Eleven" was the answer given when I asked how many stairs there were inside the Monument. I remarked that he had omitted to use the word 'hundred'.
"Yes", he replied, "People don't seem to appreciate that word".

I can see why... Three hundred and eleven steps is quite a few, and climbing round a very tight spiral made me dizzy by the time I'd managed the first hundred or so.

But the Monument (to the Great Fire of London) is a fine thing. It only costs £3 to go up (less than a penny per step), and the views from the top are quite wonderful. Sadly, there's quite a fine wire mesh at the top, which is not so great for taking photos with a big lens on. Camera-phone users, on the other hand, have got it pretty good.