We had a great day in London when we headed over to London Bridge and then on to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The history here is amazing and it’s so surreal to see these old stone buildings surrounded by modern buildings. I used to think the Tower Bridge was the London Bridge but now I know better ! They are both located, next to each other, in the Pool of London on the River Thames but they quite often get mixed up.
We walked by the London Bridge on our way, shown in the top right of the photo. It was a lovely walkway along the water and didn’t take us too long to walk to the Tower of London.
London Bridge is the oldest river crossing in London, opened in 1973, replacing a 19th century stone arched bridge which in turn succeeded a 600 year old stone structure, constructed by the Romans.
We got tickets for the Tower of London in advance for our entry at 930. There was a huge lineup even though the tickets were all reserved. It took us 2-3 hours to see everything. We saw the Crown Jewels, the armory, the tower and a place where they kept their animals. We also walked through an arched entrance where it was said Ann Boleyn walked during her visit to the Tower of London. I loved the architecture of the buildings and the history.
Just outside the Tower by a gift shop 
Entrance, look at the people lined up 
Entrance 
Dragon 
Bathroom time! 
Beefeater 
This guy caught my eye 
This statue represents a polar bear who was kept chained as a “pet” 
We had tickets to Tower Bridge for the same day but at 230 in the afternoon. We walked there and we were early so we decided to walk to the Bermondsey Beer Mile, which is as it sounds, a lane with breweries. They were not open and it really didn’t look that nice, the area in general. We came back towards the Bridge and stopped to have lunch, which was not good. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant and I wish I could because I would definitely not recommend it.
When our tour time for Tower Bridge came up, we took an elevator up to the sidewalk between the towers and walked across to the other side. You could see down into the water as it was a glass floor or whatever that material is that they use. We also saw the steam/hydraulic power room.
It stands as it was built in 1894 and is an amazing piece of architecture, in my opinion. A few facts: Length – 430m (1410 feet); Width – 63m (206 feet). They used 14 million rivets, 31 million bricks and tons of steel and concrete etc. 40,000 people cross this bridge every day.
View of Tower Bridge 
Tower Bridge 
Glass Floor on the walkway 
The engine room 
Me with the “Tower Cat” which is not a real cat but made up for kids…..and for me of course.
It was a great day but we aren’t done yet! Still more to see in London, stay tuned.
Trums Travels 
I would love to walk on the glass walk! That bridge is so amazing! The loo looks like it would be rather cold sitting there and the Thames looked to be at high tide. Beautiful place! Thank you for the photos, guys. ☺️🏴❤️
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These looked like fun tours and that glass bottom walk was so modern as opposed to all these famous architectural building. In fact, it is a shame in a way that modern buildings were built so close to the old and famous buildings. I didn’t know a polar bear was kept as a pet … what are the animals on top of a building or cement structure in the 4th picture down, where you showed us the long line to get into the Tower of London? Fun pics of the two of you in these unique tourist spots. I meant to ask in the previous post if you were able to make the Palace Guards crack a smile while on their sentry duty. I saw a few tourists trying to do that to one, but he did not break a smile. Was the Beefeater a woman?
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