Day Eleven – Tower of London, River Thames Boat Trip & London Eye
Despite the dampening start with the true unpredictability of British weather, our enthusiasm was not knocked as we flew through over 1000 years of history.
Exploring two locations across London, we started off back in 1066 with the Tower of London visiting the magnificent Crown Jewels before venturing through the rest of the Tower’s history. We re-enacted the arrival of traitors through the infamous Traitors Gate before heading up to the Torture Tower to look at the gory methods used back in the day.
A short walk across the keep to the place of Anne Boleyn’s beheading followed by a picture with the world renowned Queen’s guard, famous for their noticeable uniform. We had the opportunity to speak with the Beefeaters, the care takers of the Tower to ask all of our questions about the Tower’s history.
A walk along the battlements allowed us all to see the stark contrast between new and old London and the transformation through 1000 years of one of the world’s oldest cities. The walk let us all get close to the infamous Ravens, learning about their significance to the Tower as well as seeing the old menagerie rooms, where Monkeys, Lions and even Polar Bears were kept!
Next up was a boat ride across the Thames where we had the chance to see London from an unfamiliar stance. Cruising past the Palace of Westminster, the Embankment and of course River House, famous for being blown up on James Bond and the home of the British secret service before sailing under London’s beautifully engineered bridges and disembarking at the London Eye.
As we approached the eye capsules, the nerve for heights amongst some of us were quickly put aside through the excitement of what we were about to see. We embarked in school groups as we went to stand, quite literally, at the Sky’s Edge of London. The views in one word were breathtaking. The ISCA staff shared their enthusiasm for London pointing out some of the unseen treasures including Battersea Power Station, Canary Wharf, The Shard, ITV studios and the Millennium Dome.
The day was filled with utter elation by everyone, tomorrow we travel back even further to visit one of the wonders of the world, Stonehenge!
Ollie
