Skip to main content

London's Tower Bridge

Image
By
During my all too brief visit to London in September 2014, I had set out to do a whirlwind tour of some of the big touristy sites in the city. The Tower Bridge wasn't initially planned to be one of the highlights of my time in London, although I knew I was going to see it because I had planned on spending time at the nearby Tower of London. While touring around the Tower of London was definitely worth the high price of admission, after walking around the historic fortress and palace, I had little interest in waiting on a long line to see Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's crown jewels, so I opted to check out one of the crown jewels of the world of bridges.

While crossing over the River Thames by foot on the Tower Bridge, I discovered that there is a museum and exhibition inside the bridge's towers and the high level observation decks, so I had to check it out. While you visit the museum, you can watch a video about the bridge's design and construction, its opening over 120 years ago, visit an exhibit the observation deck and even visit the engine room. I certainly enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of the Tower Bridge, along with seeing the bridge both inside and out.

View of the Tower Bridge
The Thames has a fair amount of river traffic around the bridge.

The Tower Bridge as seen from the Tower of London. Despite the grand Victorian era design of the Tower Bridge's towers, the bridge is actually named after the Tower of London.

A little closer side view of the center towers and observation deck.


The Tower Bridge is open to both vehicles and foot traffic.

The Tower Bridge is also one of the more detailed bridges that I've visited.

A view of the Thames from the observation deck.

Standing underneath the observation deck of the bridge.

A view of part of London's skyline from the bridge.



Some views inside the bridge's engine room. The bridge was once operated by steam as the bridge's bascule lift was opened and closed. The power source of the bridge was converted to electricity in 1976. It takes about 1 minute and 15 seconds to open or close the lift.







Sources and Links
Tower Bridge Exhibition - Bridge History
Elite Travel Blog - How Long Does Tower Bridge Take To Open and Close?
Londontopia.net - Tower Bridge: 10 Facts and Figures About London's Tower Bridge You Probably Didn't Know
Tower Bridge Exhibition - Tower Bridge Engine Rooms
Flickr - Doug Kerr's Flickr Gallery on the Tower Bridge 
Labels:
Location: Tower Bridge, Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 2UP, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

California State Route 232

By
This past month I drove the entirety of California State Route 232 in Ventura County. CA 232 is an approximately 4 miles State Highway aligned on Vineland Avenye which begins near Saticoy at CA 118 and traverses southwest to US Route 101 in Oxnard.  The alignment of CA 232 was first adopted into the State Highway System in 1933 as Legislative Route Number 154 according to CAhighways.org. CAhighways.org on LRN 154 As originally defined LRN 154 was aligned from LRN 9 (future CA 118) southwest to LRN 2/US 101 in El Rio.  This configuration of LRN 154 between CA 118/LRN 9 and US 101/LRN 2 can be seen on the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Ventura County. 1935 Ventura County Highway Map According to CAhighways.org the route of LRN 154 was extended west from US 101/LRN 2 to US 101A/LRN 60 in 1951.  Unfortunately State Highway Maps do not show this extension due to it being extremely small. During the 1964 State Highway Renumbering LRN 154 was assigned CA 232.  Of n
1 comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were purchased by Jose
Post a Comment
Read more

US Route 101 through Gaviota Pass

By
US Route 101 in the Santa Ynez Mountains of Santa Barbra County, California passes through Gaviota Pass.  Gaviota Pass is most well known for being part of El Camino Real and the namesake Gaviota Tunnel which opened during 1953.  Since 1964 Gaviota Pass and US Route 101 have also carried a multiplex of California State Route 1.   Part 1; the history of the Gaviota Pass corridor Gaviota Pass is historic path of travel through the Santa Ynez Mountains of Santa Barbra County.  Gavoita Pass was a known route through the Santa Ynez Mountains which was utilized by the Chumash tribes before the arrival of Europeans.  Gaviota Pass was first explored by Spanish during the 1769 Portola Expedition of Las Californias.  The Portola Expedition opted to follow the coastline northward fearing that the established Chumash path through Gaviota Pass was too narrow to traverse.  In time Gaviota Pass became a favored established path of Spanish travel which bypassed the hazardous coastline as part of El C
Post a Comment
Read more