HRP: Tower of London

As you may remember, last summer we bought membership to the Historic Royal Palaces which means we get free entry to several of the palaces for one year. We enjoyed a very sunny day at Kensington Palace and had a quick visit to the Tower of London using our card over the summer but we still have Kew Palace, Banqueting House and Hampton Court Palace to tick off our list this spring.

At the weekend we decided to go and see the bits of the Tower that we had missed the first time round. Some people say you could spend a day there, others say at least 2-3 hours - definitely leave yourself a good few hours to see the Tower of London if you won't be returning anytime soon. You really should do it justice.

Our return visit was very different to our summer visit. The fog blocked out "new" London around us - if you squint very carefully you might just make out The Gherkin - but the Tower is definitely more atmospheric when all you can see are the ghosts of its past.

The Tower of London began its life sometime in 1080, which makes it the oldest building in London. It has been added to over the centuries and restored - it was hit by bombs in World War II and obviously its age means that restoration work is necessary - to get to what remains today.

That's not to say that the Tower is remains though, far from it. It's certainly incredible that it is now over 1,000 years old and to think about all that has happened there over the years. Today it's a tourist attraction, the home to The Crown Jewels but also the ceremonial regimental headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. It's a pretty incredible place.

Have you visited the Tower of London? x