My blogger wifey Boo messaged me a month or so ago and asked if I had ever been to the Tower of London.
My answer was that I certainly had, but when I was around 11 years old and I really didn’t remember it that well. So, she asked if I fancied a day out exploring our History and having a get together.
Well, I hadn’t seen her for a couple of months, so my answer was of course, Yes!
We sorted out our trains and arranged to meet at St Pancras around 10am on a bright sunny March morning. Boo had managed to arrange BOGOF tickets for the Tower on production on a valid rail ticket. Well, we both had those so off we went.
I booked my first class rail ticket that got me to London for around 1010 on the Saturday morning. I met up with Boo around 10 minutes later and we hit the Central Line to get to Tower Hill around five stop later.
First Class Baby
The problem with that was we were too busy talking and by the time we reached The Monument, we has missed our stop by one.
Oh well, it couldn’t be that difficult in finding the way to go. Boo got her Google Maps up and we started walking. Three changes later when the App kept telling us we were going the wrong way, we were actually on the right path.
A bit of a grey start
The good thing about us going in the wrong direction was that we got some great pictures along the way!
Modern Architecture
Eventually we hit the Palace and joined the queue to get tickets to enter.
Some of the metal menagerie (whilst queing for tickets)
Now, I for one was not really sure what was inside. We had the BOGOF tickets, but at £30.30 for a standard ticket, I did think it was a little overpriced. However I was basing this on a 35 year old memory.
We got our two tickets and headed straight inside. I mentioned to Boo that I would like to do the Yeoman Warder talk which happened around every 30 minutes as I had seen clips of this on YouTube and it looked hilarious.
In we go….
Boo made a better suggestion. The tour for the Crown Jewels wasn’t overcrowded so suggested we did this first. Now I have to admit this was the best suggestion of the day.
The White Tower
As we arrived at the fortress holding the jewels, there wasn’t a queue. We entered, wandered around the display before finally finding ourselves in the Jewel Room which has a moving walkway to enable all to get a good view of the jewels.
The room was oppressively hot. I literally had to remove my cardigan and get my fan out as I was melting, The jewels were absolutely stunning though!
The location of the Crown Jewels
We left the exhibition and hit the cafe to get a cold drink and a snack; Boo had a chocolatey cake and I had a pear and toffee muffin. We discussed where we would go next and what else we planned for the day.
Reunited…. and it feels so good!
We walked along the battlements taking in various room were political prisoners were kept; enemies of the crown or state, illegitimate siblings and supposedly treasured wives who were put before the axe. Around the top were metal creations of the animals that were originally in the menagerie; in this case Baboons.
Evil Baboon
After climbing all the tiny spiral staircases, Boo and I decided to get a cold drink to sit down with. It was as we were sitting on a bench that encircled a blossom tree that we were approached.
Selfie Mode
A lovely lady I now know to be Speediemeadie66 (on Instagram) approached us and asked if she could take our photo. Now, being quite used to this request, we of course said yes.
Now, this was slightly stranger than normal as she started directing us; what to look at, how to look natural etc. It felt a little like a mini photoshoot. Then she asked us to stand up against a wall and took even more photographs.
It was only after she finished that she came over and asked for our details. She explained that she was purely here with her parents who were visiting from Yorkshire; however she was normally a photographer for the Guardian Newspaper.
That’s a big gun!
What a compliment and an honour!
Now at this point we made our way to the Bloody Tower; the place were allegedly the two Princes were murdered. As we arrived I saw a sign saying that the stairs were very steep,enclosed and around 22 of them. I knew Boo really wanted to go and see what it was about.
A cheeky chap
I basically told her that my knees, feet and back really wouldn’t thank me for even trying to get up there and for her to carry on solo whilst I took the air in the gardens and the village green vicinity.
And so it was whilst I was bimbling about in this area waiting for Boo to appear that I saw a Beefeater.
A Yeoman Warder and a jolly nice gentleman!
I say Beefeater; that is the colloquial term. To the educated they are Yeoman Warders.
This particular Yeoman Warder was talking to two oriental ladies, yet took the time to glance across and exclaim ‘Stunning bag, madam’
Well of course it was, but I didn’t expect anyone to notice it as such.
King Henry VIII’s Codpiece
The two ladies moved on, so I got right in there. I started chatting to this lovely fellow; Nothing was too much to ask and he was a wealth of information about the Tower.
Boo made her appearance after getting through the Bloody Tower and joined in the conversation.
I asked the Yeoman Warder for photos with each of us
Her Majesty struggled to judge the Best Dressed Category
Well, he did even better than that; commandeering a passing man to use my Nikon camera and get a great shot of us all. The strange thing was as we were taking the shot, several members of the public started taking our photographs as if we were some kind of celebrities!
The White Tower
We then went on a Yeoman Warder talk which was absolutely hilarious and last around 45 minutes. We had a female Yeoman Warder and she was simply amazing; full of facts and info without boring anyone.
A lovely lady with a great sense of humour!
Now we had pretty much had done the whole place whe Boo spotted our friendly Yeoman Warder.
She asked me how on earth they get their ASOS deliveries and whether UberEats pops around! Now personally I couldn’t imagine our burly bearded ‘beefeater’ wearing a lot of ASOS, however I have learnt never to judge!
Strike a pose
Anyway, we were pretty much at the end of the day and absolutely starving!
The Juxtaposition of Old and New
Just around the corner was a branch of Coppa. So we popped around and checked whether they could accommodate us for dinner. The lovely lady on the desk was able to offer us a table but it had to be free within an hour as she had a reservation.
Well, as long as they were able to serve us in a hour, we would be ok!
Cocktail time
The menu was pretty comprehensive and I struggled to make a choice as there were three or four things on the main menu that I was quite taken by.
Eventually we decided on some nibbles; crispy fried truffled gnocchi and a portion of sticky chorizo in a honey, mustard and smoked paprika glaze.
Both dishes were stunning.
Paired with an extremely strong Long Island Ice Tea, it was a perfect start to the meal. My feet and aching back appreciated the strong cocktail and it certainly put a smile on my face.
Not a lot of mixer in this!
For the main course, both Boo and I had chosen Pizza. For her a plain Margherita. I chose a Portobello; mushrooms, mozzarella, parmesan and pesto and I added a fried egg to the middle.
Heaven on a plate
Well, I felt almost like I had been transported to heaven.
Every bite set off my taste buds and I have to say it was one of the nicest pizzas I had eaten in quite a long time!
I think it went down especially well given the 12,ooo steps we had done around the Tower!
Well our hour was pretty much up. We were too full for dessert and asked for the bill. Twenty minutes passed and no -one seemed to bothered to move us on AND our bill hadn’t arrived.
We collared another server and instead of getting the bill, I ordered another cocktail.
Starting to get dark
It came and we asked again for a bill, but it wasn’t too forthcoming so we sat back, chilled and people watched (including the very awkward young couple next to us who looked like they were on a first date)
Eventually we were aware of the time ticking by and both of us were absolutely shattered and decided to head back to the station to get a train home.
On the way we decided to get some photographs of the river. What a great choice this turned out to be; no filters or flash. Just my phone and the night sky.
Just beautiful
Boo and I popped on the circle line, with me getting off around four stops before she did. Having a huge emotional hug, I got off the tube and walked up to St Pancras.
Tower Bridge at Night
I was pretty lucky that there was a train departing in around 15 minutes which meant I would get home at the perfect time of around 2030. Not too late at all.
Good night, Tower
I have to say I had an amazing day at the Tower of London. I honestly didn’t realise there was quite as much to do there as there was. It was a historical revelation and we were both surprised, shocked and tickled by some of the stories, including the fact that Henry III had a polar bear that was allowed to go fishing in the Thames with a rope around his leg so he didn’t swim off… What a sight that must have been!
You what?!?!
All in all, I highly recommend the Tower of London as a fun AND educational day out. The Yeoman Warder tours are hilarious whilst educating people and the jewels are just divine.
Old and New
If you are in London, you could do a lot worse than wandering around the beautiful, bloody, funny, gruesome, annals of history that the Towers hold.
Menagerie Models
Oh and the photo opportunities are immense!
Until next time,
SPSG xxx