If you haven’t caught on, this is my next post in my London series meaning this was day two out of five in London as well as my first full day in the city. This was one of the days I had planned out very specifically so that I could do everything I wanted. The thing I have learned about planning, especially on trips, is nothing ever goes to plan. That’s why I try not to plan too much on my trips so that I can go with the flow, but there was so much I wanted to do in London and such little daylight that I had pretty much each day planned from 9am to 6pm. After editing my itinerary a many many time, I finally decided that my first day would be spent at attractions near my hostel, Wombat’s City Hostel London.
I was staying a little over half a mile away from the Tower of London. To me things are considered close if they are within a 20 or maybe even 30 minute walk, so everything I decided to do this day was no more than that. Well that is after my plans went to crap. I had planned the Tower of London for the morning, Borough Market for lunch, Skygarden for the afternoon, and the National Gallery from late afternoon into the evening. Only two of these happened. First off I gave up on Skygarden after I waited too long to get tickets and didn’t want to deal with being a walk in. Instead I decided on the Garden at 120 which doesn’t require tickets and is also open much later. I also didn’t bother with the National Gallery after having a terrible night of sleep and needing some rest time in the afternoon. I was a bit disappointed because this was the only day I could find time for it, but it really was a bit more out of the way because it required the metro. It is something I will just have to go back to do. Here is what I did do this day.
My tickets for the Tower of London were for the first entrance between 9am-9:30 am. I had planned to get there closer to 9, but after being awake for half the night due to jet lag, I slept in a little bit and arrived at 9:30 am. Even though it really sucked to be up so early, I am glad I planned it this way, because around 11 am, the tower got busy. The first thing I did when I got to the Tower of London was pull up the free audio guide. I had gotten the cheapest tickets possible, which still weren’t cheap and I wasn’t willing to budge anymore.
It walked me through the first few parts of the tower you see right when you enter including St. Thomas’s Tower and Traitors Gate, where prisoners were brought in by water. Then I followed it through the gates where you are met with the famous White Tower. This is where I got off a little bit, because instead of following it to the left to the memorial to those executed here, I went around the right for some great views to the back where there was the entrance to the crown jewels. A friend told me to go right to the crown jewels when you get to the tower so that is what I did. And again, I am glad I did because when I went in there was not line and hardly anyone inside, but when I came out, a line (or a queue should I say) was starting to form.
Sadly you are not allowed to take pictures of the crowns jewels, so I can’t show you, but its kind of nice that it is this way. I am guilty of feeling like I need to take pictures of everything and then ruining the actual experience itself. Here I was able to take it all in. I saw jewels and ornaments from all over the world as well as historical ceremonial pieces like the cornets in the Treasury. This all led up to the main show where you hopped on the moving belt to see the famous Koh-I-Noor diamond, the Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign Sceptre, and the crowns used by the Prince of Wales and Queen Consort. I am glad I came here when I did because I was truly able to enjoy the jewels without other tourists pushing around. I could take my time to read about them and look at all the little pieces.
In total I spent a little over half an hour in the crown jewels. When I exited there was a little cafe where I stopped to get some water because I was really thirsty. At many of the museums in London there are a lot of cafes and stands to stop for drinks and snacks, so you never have to worry. From here I continued the tour starting back up at the Execution Memorial. I really came to the Tower of London for Anne Boleyn and the chapel where she is buried here is currently closed for renovations, so this memorial is all I got in tribute of her. This was where she and many other prisoner were executed. I didn’t take any pictures of it out of respect. I can describe it to you though. It lays on Tower Green where the executions took place. There was only certain kinds of executions that took place here. They were not the public executions used to shame the common folk. This was for the people with a name and those that were imprisoned here. In total about 125 executions took place here. Here you will find a round monument with writing to remember those who died there.
From here I skipped over the bit about the crown jewels on the audio guide and headed to the White Tower. At this point in the tour I was thinking “Wow what else is there to see.” I had no idea how much there was to the White Tower. It was the exhibit I didn’t know I needed. I have always been really interested in 1500s UK history. I say UK, because it was never just England that drew me to this time period. It was the English conquest of Ireland and the rivalry between Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen on Scots that truly got me into the Tudor family. I also found an interest in the War of Roses with the Starz series based on them. That is why I was so excited when I walked into the White Tower to see Henry VIII’s armors as well as plaques detailing what each room looked like during the Plantagenets, Tudors, and Stuarts.
Here is a little history if you don’t know about these families. If you are familiar with English history, then skip this paragraph.
The Plantagenets were the ruling family in England from the 1100s until the late 1400s after the War of Roses when the family split into the House of Lancaster and House of York that were battling over the line of succession. The Tudor dynasty arose when Henry VII became king after the death of King Richard III. He was of Lancaster descent and married Elizabeth of York to solidify the succession. This was the father of the most well know tutor king, Henry VIII. He had three children each from different mothers and each who ruled. Elizabeth was the youngest of his children but was the longest reigning monarch out of all of them. Queen Elizabeth I never had any children, meaning she had no heir to the throne. If you are as interested in the fight over the English throne between Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I as much as me then you know Mary is a Sturt, but she had a claim to the English throne as she was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII. Queen Mary’s son James inherited the Scottish throne and then later the English throne after Queen Elizabeth died starting the Stuart dynasty in England. The easiest way to think about all of this is the Plantagenets were the 1100s-1400s. The Tudors were the late 1400s through the early 1600s and the Stuarts were the early 1600s- early 1700s. Now back to to the Towers.
The first floor when you enter, or the first floor of the exhibits which you have to climb up a bunch of stairs outside to get to, is filled with different armors including that of horses. You”ll find here other artifacts as well which are what mostly make up the White Tower. Occasionally you come across rooms that sole purpose on the tour are to learn about their use from the time like the chapel or the toilets. You eventually make it up to the second floor with similar exhibits and then you make your way to the basement to see the artillery. This part was really cool because you are seeing real cannons from the time.
The basement is the last of the White Tower exhibits. I spent in total about 45 minutes brows ing the three floors of the tower. When I exited after the basement I hit the last stop of the audio tour, the ravens. Walking back down from the White Tower towards the entrance where off to the left lies the home of the ravens. The ravens are heavily tied to the tower as the belief is if they left not only would the tower fall but also would the kingdom. In this area of the tower, there are cages where the ravens stay in order to protect the tower.
After this whole audio tour I still had about a hour before I needed to leave to start heading to Borough Market. I was thinking I was nearly done and that was plenty of time to see what was left, but it turns out that was not the case. I thought the next thing I would do is walk the battlement after checking out the Medieval Palace. This includes St. Thomas’s Tower which was built by Edward I in the 1200s next to the Thames to be his royal quarters to live and entertain. Then there is Lanthorn tower which is what I found to be the most fascinating because it was the lodging of Henry III’s wife, so I got to learn a bit about the Eleanors and their influence on English court life and politics. The last part is Wakefield Tower which was Henry III’s chambers. Although much of the contents are replicas, it is still cool to see what the audience room from the early 1200s looked like.
After these rooms the battlement continue and I thought “Why not? It will be fun to walk the old walls.” It turns out there are so many more rooms and exhibits to explore along these walls. Many of them I just skipped through because there were a few more rooms in the tower I wanted to see like Torture at the Tower, the Bloody Tower, and Tower Executions (I was really into the aspect of the tower being a prison.) So with that being said, I walked straight through the Royal Beasts exhibit, because also, I don’t care. I didn’t feel the need to give the time of day to the monarchy taking animals from the lands they colonized. In the end they gave them all to the zoo, but morally I still felt like the whole thing was wrong, so I had no problem skipping through it to get to the other rooms.
Out of the rest of what I wanted to see, I found the Bloody Tower to be the most interesting. Remember what I was saying before about the Plantagenets and the War of Roses? That King Richard III became king through force. When his brother the King, Edward IV died, he declared himself king and in order to secure his throne, he imprisoned the late king’s 12 and 9 year old sons. They stayed in this tower but to this day no one knows what happened to them because they were never seen again. The rumor is that they were murdered in the tower. Bones of two children have been found near the White Tower, but no one can say for sure if it is the remains of the boys and if it was murder that killed them.
The torture room was interesting as well, but not for the faint of heart. There were some pretty horrible ways people were tortured and killed at the time. The room about the prisoners and executions here was interesting as well, but didn’t have a whole lot to experience as it was mostly reading, but if it is something you are interested in, there are engravings in the walls of the second floor by the prisoners.
My reflection on the Tower of London? I wish I had more time and I wish I had not planned it for the first day given the fact I could be jetlagged and would need more wiggle room in the morning. I also wish I had time to have eaten a bigger breakfast because with just a granola bar, I was really hungry by 12:30 when I left. I could have easily spent another hour here if I wasn’t so hungry and miserable from being tired.
From here it was about a 20 minute walk to Borough Market. I walked west along the Thames to London Bridge and crossed over to the Southwark. After the bridge it is just a bit to the right and then you are in Borough Market. Now my roommate had told me that they found other markets in London to be way better than Borough Market, but I actually think it is worth the hype. It is quite busy though so you have to make sure you have all your belongings secured and it is a bit difficult to find a spot to sit and eat, so be prepared to sit on the steps or ground. The food and vibes make it all worth it though. Not only is it fun with its green stalls and lights hanging down, but you can actually get lost in the market. I think its fun to be completely surrounded, but for some people that may be a deal breaker. I wanted to go to the Black Pig to get the iconic sandwich from TikTok and yes it was all it was made out to be. Sometimes I think you can’t fall for these things and you should try to find your own hidden gems, but in this case, I would completely recommend the pork sandwich. I also just love pork sandwiches, so it was worth it to me.
This was the point where one of my hostel roommates met up with me and we walked around the market a bit to find the hidden gems. I ended up giving up on my dream for the chocolate strawberries after seeing the line and the price. We ended up at a lavender stand with the best lemonade I have ever had. It was 5 pounds for a cup of lavender lemonade that is colored purple using sweet potato powder. It was delicious as it tasted fresh, but it wasn’t too sweet or too sour like some freshly squeezed lemonade.
Afterwards we walked around the neighborhood, stopping at the London Bridge Christmas Market, where we did a little shopping. She got some gold dipped leaf earrings and necklace, while I got some Skinfd organic lotion. I got the lavender scent and I love it. I have been using it as a face moisturizer, which has been perfect with the dry cold weather at home. I swear by the power of organic products.
After this I was getting a big tired and although I didn’t want to take a nap to beat the jetlag, I knew there was no way I was getting through the day I had planned myself. I walked the 20 minutes back to the hostel via Tower Bridge and just spent a couple hours resting. Once the sun set I decided that maybe I was ready to do something because now I felt like I had wasted a part of the day. I walked about 20 minutes west towards the skyscrapers to check out Leadenhall Market and the Garden at 120.
I was still not hungry from my huge pork sandwich, but I wanted to see Leadenhall markets for its architecture and significance in Harry Potter. I thought it would just be fun to walk around and take pictures. It is also one of the oldest markets in London, which is a big deal because markets are London’s thing.
Just a few short minutes from here is the Garden at 120. I am actually glad this one worked out the way it did. I wanted to go to Skygarden for a view of the city as I said before and that didn’t work out. Garden at 120 is open much later for spectators and it actually was really cool seeing London lit up at night. My pictures don’t do it justice. You just had to be there. It is probably true the garden itself is much better enjoyed during the day or in the warmer months, but if you are going for the view, then this is perfect. It is really easy to find as well. You just go to the skyscraper and then you will see a line to the elevator that goes to the garden. You do have to go through a short security check, but its not bad at all. Then when you want to leave, just hop in the next elevator going down. It was really peaceful up there and there were not a lot of people at all. I think this ended up working out great for me.
At this point there was not much more I could do in the city, so I headed back to the hostel and ordered some Indian food for pick up. I got Chicken Tikka Masala from Rasoi Ghar just a few minute walk from my hostel. It was a bit expensive though. I spend 13 pounds on the Tikka Masala thinking that is not a bad price for Indian food, but as it turned out, it was not served with rice like it is in the US. Once I got there they asked me if I wanted some rice or naan to go with it and I said yes to the rice knowing I was about to spend more money on rice. It was about 4 pounds, so the total was 17 pound, but as dollars that is over 20 and the most I have ever spend on Indian food. It was exactly what I wanted that night though. Plus Tikka Masala is something you have to get in London as it was created there.
The rest of the evening was spent at the hostel bar once again for trivia night. This is the nice thing about hostels. They give you this social outlet to meet new people as well as a place to spend your evenings when you don’t have plans. I really enjoyed it and the hostel bar was actually really nice. It was in the basement and it had a really cozy atmosphere with its stone walls and cushioned benches. Trivia was pretty fun, even if we did get a but snubbed. I think this evening though was the point London was starting to grow on me.
That is a wrap on my second day in London. Stayed tuned for Day 3: Westminster and Greenwich as well as the rest of my adventures in London.
The Journal of Wanderlust 