FTY Gam

There are many ghosts that haunt these ancient walls. They creak and groan as they age. Traitor’s Gate is the watery entrance to these forbidding wall, where prisoners would have first seen them. William the Conqueror had the Tower of London built. You can see this by looking around. Take your camera.

First things first. You can join a Yeoman Guarder Tour (it is included with your ticket but you should tip them after). They know the history of the Tower and the many eerie tales. Many have been living on the property for several years.

This tower, also known as the “Keep”, dominates its surroundings. Henry VIII’s collection of armor is kept here, as well as his horse. It was in the stunning 11th-century Chapel of St John the Evangelist that Lady Jane Grey knelt before her death on the chopping board, as a result of a struggle over the succession of the throne. She was housed in Beauchamp Tower.

Tower Green, where the Royals’ chopping blocks are located is the site where they lost their lives. Anne Boleyn (second wife to Henry VIII) was just entering her 30s. Catherine Howard (5th wife to Henry VIII), was barely out of her 20s. And Lady Jane Grey (16 years old) were among the unfortunates. Anne Boleyn’s execution was accomplished with just one stroke of a sword by a skilled Frenchman.

If you are tempted by the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House you might want to purchase a souvenir. Don’t do it! Then you will end up locked in a tower, or even worse! Keep moving. You can keep moving as long as you want.

It is in the Bloody Tower that the young princes and Sir Walter Raleigh were held. Raleigh was permitted to pace the walls where friends from below the Thames River would hail his arrival. Raleigh’s Walk is the name given to this part of Tower.

Anne Boleyn’s crypt is located in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula. When I visited this chapel, one of the Yeoman Warders asked if he could take me down into the crypt. He replied that “only the queen goes there, Governor.” Oh, well, that’s life. It would have been impossible to script a more English answer for him.