I arrived back in the UK in early January and then took a trip shortly afterwards to London to welcome my daughter back from her travels in the Far East. It was a great few days in London and saw me take a little trip, that I hadn’t done before, to The Tower of London and then onto the immersive experience at the Gunpowder Plot.
Visiting the Tower of London is a real must for anyone visiting London, if you have the time, of course. I have been to London so many times and have visited many places but had never got round to doing this little experience. The Tower is open from 9am until 4.30pm and can be pre-booked online. You also get a Yeoman wader guided tour included in your standard ticket price of £34.80 – children up to 15 years, students, and seniors are all entitled to discounts. There are a few areas to see in the Tower, so it is necessary to allow a few hours to explore everywhere that includes the Crown Jewels, Bloody Tower, White Tower, Royal Beasts, and the beautiful ravens. I didn’t really allocate enough time, as I had prebooked the Gunpowder Plot for afterwards and therefore found myself a little time bound.
I was lucky on this trip to get a lovely, although quite cold, sunny day with clear skies that made wandering around and listening to the guided tour outside much more enjoyable than it would have been if it had been blowing a gale or pouring with rain. After the guided tour, I started my own tour with the Crown Jewels exhibition which was amazing and had a moving walkway that took you around the crowns to ensure that everyone got a good view without people lingering for ages around each item. I followed this by visiting The Royal Armouries which was also interesting and has armour that was used by Henry VIII.
The White Tower at the heart of the Tower of London is the place that really stands out on this experience with its size and magnificent architecture. Inside the White Tower there are some interactive experiences, too, that are perfect for the young and old alike; you can even learn how to shoot arrows and assemble firearms! And, in 1674, the remains of two young children were found beneath the stairs at the White Tower who are believed to be the two missing princes, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, who disappeared in 1483 during the War of the Roses and were never seen again. Their disappearance became one of the biggest mysteries in British history.
The tour of the Tower wouldn’t be complete without a little trip into the notorious prison that was a place of execution and contained prisoners that were considered to be a serious threat to national security. Prisoners were imprisoned here while awaiting torture, punishment, or death. Most escapees here were recaptured, and it is thought that only one person managed to escape for good!
One of the most endearing parts of my trip was most definitely seeing the ravens. The Tower of London ravens are said to be guardians of the Tower. It is thought that if the six resident ravens leave the Tower that it will collapse. These intelligent birds all have names and seem to enjoy having their photographs taken. The ravens apparently live on a diet of mice, chicks, rats, and raw meat, and special treats include biscuits soaked in blood – sorry if you were just about to dunk a biscuit into your tea or coffee!!
After you have spent a few hours here, or even if you fancy a break hallway through your trip, there are plenty of refreshments on offer including takeaway food and drink and a sit-down café – there is also a restaurant.
The next part of my day was to visit the Immersive Gunpowder Plot that is just a few strides away from the Tower of London in Tower Hill Vaults. This experience lasts for 1 hour and 40 minutes with a 20-minute interval and enables you to fly back to 1605 and get involved in the plot to blow up the houses of parliament with live actors and a bar available, both before and during the interval, for drinks and snacks. It is dark inside for the whole experience, apart from the glow of multiple lanterns, making it more exciting, and the real and enthusiastic actors involve you as soon as you enter the dungeons. There are also several VR experience which are brilliant and help to immerse you even more into the whole experience. The Gunpowder Plot is not like any kind of escape room, and you don’t have to look for any clues – all you have to do is just go along with the experience. I really enjoyed this part of my day and would recommend it, but it looks as if time is running out to enjoy it as the doors are closing for good at the beginning of March this year – so, and sorry for the late notice, but you will need to get along there very quickly if you are to see it! Let’s hope they open a new and equally as enjoyable immersive experience soon…
