Tower of London, London

Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, England will fall. And, given that the closest that England has been to succumbing to invasion since 1066 was during the Second World War (during which the Tower's raven population plummeted to one), there may just be some truth to his legend!

The author Boria Sax came to the conclusion that, "the ravens were originally brought in to dramatise the alleged site of executions at the Tower".

Now that there is no longer a supply of freshly executed heads for the ravens to subsist on, they are fed a combination of meat, eggs, rabbit fur and kitchen scraps. The Tower's website also provides the following fascinating raven-related trivia (based on April 2011):

"Nobody knows when ravens first came to the Tower of London, but they've been associated with the Tower for centuries. Legend dictates that, if the ravens ever leave, the Tower will fall and the Kingdom will fall, so Charles II decreed that there must always be at least six ravens at the Tower. That tradition has been honored for more than 300 years.

* Seven ravens currently live at the Tower. Three are females; four are males.
* To keep the birds from flying away, the Raven Master clips their lifting feathers. The procedure doesn't hurt them in any way; it simply unbalances their flight so they won't stray from the Tower.
*Ravens have escaped occasionally. Grog was last seen outside an East End pub called the Rose and Punchbowl in 198 after living at the tower for 21 years (seven years longer than Sir Walter Raleigh).
* Occasionally, birds are dismissed for bad behavior. George was exiled to the Welsh Mountain Zoo in 1986 after developing an unhealthy taste for TV antennas, while two other ravens were banished in 1996 for "conduct unbecoming Tower residents."
* Ravens can live to a ripe old age. The oldest raven to live at the Tower was Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44. The oldest raven curently living at the Tower is Hardey, who is 26 years old.

Ravens are well fed: Each bird's daily ration includes 6 ounces of meat and bird-formula biscuits soaked in blood. Once a week the birds enjoy an egg, and they're occasionally given a rabbit (the fur is good for them). The ravens also enjoy scraps from the Tower's mess kitchen."

The photo is one of the very first postcards I ever bought. This was memento of a primary school trip to the Tower of London in the very early 1970s when I was about eight: my overwhelming memory of the event is one of hunger as my orange squash bottle leaked and soaked my sandwiches beyond redemption!

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On the contrary of what some might think the Tower of London is only the 6th most popular attraction in London with 2.2 million visitors (2009). British Museum (6 million visitors) and other free entry museums are well before the Tower in number of visitors. I think that the adult ticket at 19,80 £, children 6 - 16 yr at 10,45 £, students & + 60yr at 17,05 £ are a reason for this even if the Tower has quite developed its spectacle part (since my previous visit 50 years ago!).

There are actually 3 usual ways of buying your ticket and avoiding lines:
- Go to one of the 4 ticket counters at the opening (Tuesday - Saturday 09.00 h; Sunday & Monday 10.00 h). You can see from my photo 1 that the lines are rather short on a Saturday in August.
- Buy your ticket the day before after 16 h, no line.
- Book your ticket online (small price reduction). You can choose to collect your tickets on the day of your visit or have them posted to you. However, if you are booking less than 7 working days (UK) or 10 working days (non-UK) in advance, you will need to collect your tickets on the day. Information on where to collect your tickets will be provided in your booking confirmation email. Be well aware that you cannot print your tickets at your home as you are often doing for plane or train tickets.

At the entry of the Tower there is some lining up even at 9.00 h because of the security check of your bag (photo 2).

Like already mentioned here there is lining up at the Crown Jewels. Start your visit with this part. Till about 09.30 h you can enter directly the building (photo 4). Later you have to pass by crowd barriers who canalize the flow of visitors (photo 3).

For the other parts there is here and there some short lining to pass narrow doors.
Take also into account there are many stairs.

You can see about everything in 4 hours time.

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There were not only heraldic lions at the Tower of London but also real ones!
In 1251 King Henry III was keeping a polar bear. There were leopards and even an elephant. Later there were six lions kept in a barbican called Lion Tower. The royal collection was increased by diplomatic gifts and became a public attraction during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Begin of the 19th c. the menagerie was open to the public at six pence the entry.
On a board of the Royal Beasts exhibition in the newly-opened Brick Tower, is written that visitors bringing a live dog or cat to feed the beasts would not pay the entry. Should we believe this?!
There was even a Monkey Room with monkeys living in a furnished room to amuse the visitors. In 1831 the 32 animals were moved to the zoo of Regents Park.
This 6 centuries old Menagerie explains why there are a number of animal sculptures at the Tower.

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First built by William the Conqueror in early 1080s and this fortification has been added through the years since.

You'll find the Crown Jewels under armed guard in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

They are the greatest working collection of Crown Jewels in the world and priceless symbols of British monarchy.

This gallery of 10 wooden horses from about 1690 belongs to a display of Kings in armour mounted on these carved horses.
The Line of Kings as it is called started with 10 figures to which during the centuries were added more monarchs. The heads of the monarchs were sculptured; the figures were dressed with armours and seated on the life size sculptured horses.

The Line of Kings was on display in the New Armouries of the Tower already in the 17th c.
Ten of the wooden horses have been brought together and restored but without the Kings in armour. Each horse has the armour of the corresponding King alongside the wall and the names of the monarchs are displayed on the red banners above each horse.
It seems that replicas in fiberglass of the armours will be made. The helmets will contain the original carved and painted heads of the Kings so that they will appear like they were on display around 1800
It's very special and I think unique.

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This exhibition, open since April 2010, shows five hundred years of royal armour.
Visitors who have been at the Tower a few decades ago will observe that presently the part of spectacles has been markedly increased aiming at a younger public of visitors.
The display of the royal armour inside the White Tower is also spectacular. Lights moving from bleu to red and green reflect on the armours and are somewhat excessive because they mask the real colours or gilded decoration.

More spectacular is the choice of the armours, mainly those of King Henri VIII. For obvious reasons everybody stops at this field and tournament armour from 1540 on my photo 1.
Henri VIII was 49 when this armour was made for him in Greenwich. It is unlikely he competed in tournament.
The other magnificent silvered and engraved armour was also made in Greenwich around 1515 for Henry VIII at the time of his marriage with Katherine of Aragon; the horse armor was made in Brussels (photo 2 - photos were difficult due to the terrible lights).
My photo 3 is that of a field armour garniture and half shaffron from the Earl of Worcester (1570). It has the latest technical advances but weighs 59 kg, the heaviest armour of that time!

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First thing when visiting the Tower is to hurry up to the Waterloo block where the Crown Jewels are on exhibit. Do it before 09.30h to avoid the lines. Visitors are whizzed past the Crowns on a moving walkway.
If you are early you can go back and look again if they are real or fakes because that is an often asked question.
As I believe what the authorities, especially Royals, say and as the jewels are surrounded with Beefeaters, an armed guard at the entrance (photo 1) and also some canons (photo 2) in front of the building they must be real?!
Furthermore the motto on the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom being "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (= shamed be he who thinks evil of it) I can't imagine Elisabeth II making me pay 20 £ to see fake diamonds?!
But another thing is sure; replicas of the British Crown Jewels exist because they were shown on an exhibition in Hannover in 1997.

Photos being not allowed inside I took pics of the guard at the entrance. Actually this guard is from the same battalion as the guard at Buckingham Palace.
In August 2011 Guards battalions alternated with the 2nd Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR) an infantry regiment for the south east of England, known as "The Tigers" (photo 3).
It must be terribly boring to stay in front of the Crown Jewels not even smiling to the pretty girls passing by, just from time to time moving riffle from one hand to another and doing a few steps.

If you want to see more militaria, on the right of the Crown Jewels building has opened the Fusiliers' Museum (photo 4).

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After several years of scaffolding, scrubbing and polishing the Norman architecture of the White Tower is again visible since begin 2011 like it must have looked around 1100 after the death of William the Conqueror the Duke of Normandy who had it built.

It is certainly the most imposing building (36m x 32.5m across and 27.5m tall) of the Tower complex. It is also inside that there is most to see. As the White Tower is close to the Crown Jewels (where you should start your visit early to avoid the lines) continue with the interesting and spectacular Royal Armouries' collection.

"Fit for a King" (open since April 2010) shows five hundred years of spectacular royal armour. The skill of the royal armourers was to combine practical protection for tournaments and battle with breathtaking designs and decoration.
My photo 2 shows the gilt armour of Charles I, the only English monarch ever to be executed. He was beheaded on a scaffold erected just outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall in 1649.

There are also a number of weapons and guns on display; they belong to the Royal Armouries whose main museum is located in Leeds. Photo 3 shows a heavy mortar of caliber 18 1/2 inches used at the siege of Namur (Belgium) in 1695.
I also liked the decoration of a 24 pounder bronze gun (photo 4 & 5) made in Mechelen (Belgium) 1643 and captured from the Spaniards.