The Tower of London

Hello everyone!  We've been having an awesome time here, and recently we went to the Tower of London, with Aunty Tracy, our super crazy, super cool godmother.  We took a train to King's Cross, then the London Underground the rest of the way.  We went to a pub, and had an excellent British lunch; bacon butties rock!

We started off walking by the spot where over 100 people were beheaded, just outside the Tower.  We were sent to the moat to wait for our tour to start, led by a Yeoman Warder.  Yeoman Warders, commonly known as Beefeaters, are guards and tour guides, who have served in the Armed Forces for at least 22 years, and they eat, sleep, work, and pray inside the Tower of London. 

Once he arrived, we started the tour.  We walked inside the Tower and our first stop was Traitor's Gate, a water entrance to the Tower built by King Edward I where many traitors were brought in to the Tower, hence the name.  Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife was brought in through Traitor's Gate.

This is the original tower, constructed by the Normans to keep order after the Battle of Hastings, built in 1078 under William the Conqueror. This tower was protected on all sides by the River Thames, old Roman walls, and ditches. But the tower has been added on to mostly by Kings Edward I, Richard the Lionheart, and Henry III.

Legend has it that if six ravens leave the Tower, Britain will fall. There are seven of them in case something happens to them. The ravens are in cages with their wings clipped, so it's unlikely that they will escape. Did you know that every day the ravens are fed 170 grams of raw meat and blood soaked biscuit mostly, but also fruit, cheese, and egg!

Because the Tower is right on the River Thames, you can see many London landmarks such as The Shard, "The Pickle," and most of all Tower Bridge which it is right next to.

For most people in the 16th Century, the Tower was seen as dark, revolting, and evil, but we thought it was EXCELLENT!