Visiting the Tower of London was one my favorite things we've done so far on our trip! While Westminster Abbey was underwhelming, I could have easily spent an entire day exploring everything there was to do at the Tower. We were disappointed, at first, because it was raining and they had to cancel our guided tour, but the rain drove away the hordes of tourists so it was a lot less crowded than usual and we were able to see everything at our own pace without feeling crowded or rushed.
When I was in middle school, my mom got me into reading some Philippa Gregory novels and I became obsessed with Tudor history so being able to see the site featured in some many of my favorite stories was very exciting! I don't even know how to describe what it felt like to stand on the spot where Anne Boleyn was beheaded or to be in arms length of Henry VIII's armor.
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Walking on top of the walls gave us a great view of Tower Bridge (which I thought was London Bridge, but that's actually a little farther down the Thames)
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In Wakefield Tower, built in 1220, we saw the private quarters of King Henry III
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In some of the rooms, they showed videos on the history of the different buildings
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They had an area dedicated to all of the different animals that had once been held in the Royal Menagerie, but unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to see it. You can see an elephant statue here though
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We visited the armory, which showed the armor of not only past kings and knights, but also of their horses
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found the 11th century loo!
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This 914 page ledger contains lists of all of the items located in the armory.
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a dragon made out of different weapons!
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the site of the scaffolding where Anne Boleyn was beheaded
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People who had been held in the different towers carved their names, bible passages, and other messages into the wall
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We visited where they tortured prisoners. One famous man that was tortured (and later executed) here was Guy Fawkes.
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The Scavenger's Daughter
It was the opposite of the rack. A person would be forced to almost curl up into a ball and then be pressed together, causing unbearable pain.
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The Rack
The person would be tied at the wrists and ankles and then pulled in opposite directions
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One of the most beautiful things we saw here was the collection of the Crown Jewels, but we weren't allowed to take pictures. It was a few different rooms of crowns, as well as ceremonial maces, royal scepter, and other fancy looking things covered in gold and jewels! They actually had this cool idea so that no one dilly dallied in front of the Queen's jewel's; they had a moving sidewalk, similar to those at the airport, that you stood on and it brought you right in front of her crown. It ensured that everyone got a chance to see it up close and no one took too long in front of it.
After we left the Tower, we went to King's Cross Station and for all you non-Potter fans out there (shame on you!) this is where Harry and his pals go to get on the train to go off to school. In order to find the platform, you have to run at the barrier between 9 and 10 in order in find platform 9 3/4. Connor was a trooper and stood in line with me for about an hour and a half to have my picture taken pretending to run through!
Not even 5 minutes away from the station is the British Library. For free, we were able to go in and see all of the amazing historical documents they have there. We couldn't take pictures here either (plus they'd probably be pretty boring!) but they have the Magna Carta, third century gospels, and a Gutenberg bible. They also have tons of manuscripts, like Beowulf, the Illiad, the Aeneid, and Canterbury Tales. The have work done by Jane Austin, Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, and Lewis Carroll. They have original music composed by the Beatles, as well as Beethoven and Mozart. It was amazing how much history they could fit in one room!
