Our trip to London was cut short by British Airways stranding us in Dublin for a full day. This gave us one full day to play tourist and even with a few tube rides we ended up walking 10 miles. Our day started getting to the Tower of London right as it opened which was a good choice as it got busier and busier by the moment. If you have not been there, the “Tower” is more like a fortress city.
We couldn’t have got better weather and the views from the towers walls were amazing.
If you are wondering about the monkeys on the wall, apparently they used to have a full zoo of animals behind the walls.
As someone who has done tile and stone work, this place was beyond amazing.
The famous guards outside where the crown jewels are kept don’t look real until they move and even then they look animatronic.
All the jewels and much of the plundered treasures are in this building.
Someone previously posted a story about the number of people that actually live at the Tower. We saw some of those places that surround the main courtyards, this one was the nicest and most heavily guarded.
The armory was one of the most interesting areas.
These were the suits for the largest and smallest knights ever.
The chapel resides in here too, probably to pray before you go off to die?
and while you are gone, you will need a dragon to protect your ale!
We continued our walk around town with all the typical tourist attractions & the crowds became ever growing.
By the end of the walk, I was done! The girls could see I was gassed but then we saw the most beautiful pub I have ever seen! My day was done, I had to go in for a pint…or two?
The next day was sending our eldest off on her solo journey to Iceland & getting our youngest settled in at her dorm. By midday, my wife and I were on our way to Belgium via the Chunnel train.
oh hey…the albert….used to walk there from victoria station to meet a friend before we’d trek on to camden market and eventually her place….its a really nice pub…inside and out
funnilly enough…despite being so close to them many times….ive never seent most of the tourist atractions up close like you have
lovely pics mate
Thanks! We went to Camden market but it was too packed to get food so we bought the fixings for gin & tonics and walked around the market drinking G&T’s. Was a very warm day & that hit the spot.
lol good way to go about it
going by your pictures from london and ireland so far you really hit the jackpot weather wise
We definitely did but we caught some bad weather in Belgium but short lived. Speaking of which, my youngest was in Amsterdam over the weekend and said the weather was pretty bad. She is now in Vienna and looks pretty nice.
eh…pretty bad is one way to put it
this time of year…a good day means more dry spells than showers….most days are the other way around
tho last weekend it would have been the trail of storm ciaran
was a little wetter and windier than average
Great shots. I loved the Tower when I was there, wish I had had more time to explore.
…bit like @farscythe I definitely had a “I know that pub” moment, there…it’s simultaneously “just down the road from” victoria, parliament, buckingham palace…& if you head down horseferry road…the headquarters of channel 4…which unlike the others wasn’t around for the blitz…so it’s sort of a miracle it’s still standing much less still serving?
…if you came to it on your way from the river you also walked right past scotland yard…so I got to take my hat off to you for hitting up a hell of a lot of spots in one day
…especially since I know not a few londoners who generally consider the idea of trying to get to more than one place that isn’t home after leaving work to be the stuff of madness…so…top marks all round?
So we started by Victoria Station, took the tube to near the Tower and the rest of the day walked, that’s how I got to over 10 miles walking! I also carry a bunch of camera gear and because I have a backpack, end up carrying everyone’s water bottles and other crap. I had toe surgery a few years back so walking that much is pretty tough but I have found pub stops help dramatically!
Gorgeous pictures. You have an eye for a good photo composition, and those shots of the Tower are especially fantastic. London fascinates me, and I hope I get to go someday!