Anki Overdrive | ToysForFun: The Tower of London – Our Top Tips before you Visit

The Tower of London is one of Europe’s oldest palaces and prisons. Its fascinating and notoriously gory history dates back over 900 years to the time of its creator William the Conqueror. There’s lots to see and do so be sure to plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time to explore this iconic London landmark.

A trip to the Tower of London is most definitely one of our favourite days out. As the kids have grown older we’ve discovered more and more cool stuff about this great place. There’s plenty to capture the imagination of all ages, from the impressive architecture, the glittering collection of crown jewels and of course the regal Queen’s guards on display. But be prepared for lots of walking and steps to climb. After a full day here even my two seasoned walkers are fading. Toddlers might struggle on foot and the Tower’s Norman architecture isn’t exactly designed with buggies in mind. There are however buggy parks dotted around the site where access is restricted.

If you can, plan ahead. Find out what the Tower has to offer before you arrive as it can be quite overwhelming to try and cover everything.

To help you get the most out of your visit I’ve rounded up 5 of our best bits:

The Crown Jewels

The queues are long at peak times but if you can face the wait this royal collection of gems is pretty special. Glittering crowns of past monarchs sit alongside the jewelled orbs and sceptres used in the Queen’s coronation. Imagine fist sized diamonds and a myriad of precious stones. The likes of which you are unlikely to see anywhere else in the world.

Yeoman Warders Tour

If you’ve never visited the Tower of London before these tours are a great way to get yourself acquainted with its history. The Beefeaters have guarded the tower for over 500 years and have plenty of gory tales, chilling legends and amusing jokes to tell. Tours last about an hour and run frequently throughout the day.

Tower Green

Here you’ll find the execution site of some of the tower’s most famous prisoners such as Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey. There isn’t a huge amount to see here but it’s worth taking a few minutes to read poet Brian Catling’s words around the glass memorial pillow that marks the spot of these beheadings. For anyone interested in Tudor history the atmosphere here is quite poignant.

Changing of the Guard

The Tower Guards comprising of 1 officer, 6 NCO’s and 15 soldiers are a detachment of the Queen’s Guards at Buckingham Palace. Their role is to protect the Crown Jewels and the Queen’s House. Every two hours you can witness the intriguing display of boot stomping and shouting as the guards outside the Jewel House are given their orders.

The Medieval Palace

Made up of St Thomas’ Tower, the Wakefield Tower and the Lanthorn Tower. This part of the palace contains reconstructions of rooms originally designed by King Henry III and Edward I. The beautiful bedchamber of King Edward I is one of our favourite places to pause and imagine ourselves living here in Medieval times.