"The Tower of London" London Travelogue by tvor

My friend and i visited London in the fall of 2000. On our last full day, we were undecided on what to do so our day started with a wander along the South Bank of the Thames, looking at the view from the Oxo tower, resting our feet at Gabriel's Wharf. We decided to go to the Tower of London for the afternoon. You really could spend all day there, there is so much to see. Museums, exhibits and buildings to poke your nose into and don't forget the Crown Jewels. We didnt see nearly as much as we wanted to. Our poor feet were so sore from walking all morning so we just took in some of the highlights.

View along the Tower walls

We took the tube from London Bridge stop to the Tower. Traffic seemed very intrusive outside of the relatively peaceful hour or two walk along the waterfront. There was a longish queue for tickets to the Tower and it was probably the most expensive attraction we've paid for, 11 pounds per adult (price is higher since then) but the line moved fairly quickly.

We didn't bother joining the several hundred deep crowd waiting to be guided around the grounds by a Beefeater, or Yeoman Warder, though if he and his followers were nearby we would stop and listen to his exaggerated tales of blood and guts! We did notice that he was stopping people from videotaping his stories so we wondered if it was because there was a video for sale in the shops. I forgot to look.

The White Tower

The tower was began by William the Conqueror shortly after 1066. It started off as a wooden fortress but the large central White Tower was then built. Over the centuries, many monarchs expanded and added to the Tower. Mainly it was a Royal Residence though it's come to notariety as a prison and spot of execution. There was also a little zoo there in medieval times.

Traitor's Gate

Access to the Tower used to be by river and one of the gates into the fortress, this one in the photo, is now called the Traitor's Gate. This is the entrance that was used to transport prisoners into the Tower where they would be locked away in one of the many cold stone towers. There are scratchings on the wall of one where Lady Jane Grey's husband, Dudley was held. Many of the higher born prisoners actually had fairly decent accomodations but the end result was quite often the same.

There's a plaque on the grounds outside the chapel that notes the site of the scaffold. But only Royal blood were executed inside the Tower walls. Most were executed on a scaffold on Tower Hill outside the walls nearby.

St. Peter Ad Vincula chapel

We wandered the grounds, made friends with the ravens (any one of which could pick a fight with a small dog and probably win!) and went into the Royal Chapel, St. Peter ad Vincula where the poor beheaded queens of Henry VIII are buried beneath the altar (among others, Duchess of Rochford, Jane Grey) No photos allowed inside the chapel though

Tower bridge from the Tower compound

We didn't have the energy to climb anymore stairs so we didn't go into the big White Tower, the original fortress in the center of the compound where there is an armory display and maybe we missed the best bit but there is certainly enough still that we didn’t see to warrant going back again sometime. There are actually quite a few of the towers along the walls open to the public with things to see inside. A quick browse in the crowded gift shop, a few photos of Tower Bridge and we're back to the underground for a very slow and painful trip back on the circle line. Lots of delays so it was almost a 20 minute wait and by then the train was packed. The train went so slow between the first few stops, including a few unscheduled stops in the tunnels that it felt more like it was being pedalled!