How on earth can I possibly do more good stuff and not get murdered on Valentine’s day. I though to myself over a cold beer the other day. What I consider good stuff never seems to tally with the opinion of she who must be obeyed. Not wanting to spend my entire wages on ill advised presents (and certainly not wanting to go down the stuffed bear with attached rose option), I was stuck. In the words of U2, I was about to get “stuck in a moment that I couldn’t get out of” and it there really didn’t seem to an easy answer.
Then, from the deepest recesses of my grey matter popped an idea. And this was a winning idea, an idea so good that even I couldn’t fail with it. The Tower of London, her indoors has been on about it for years. The only problem being, was it a strong enough idea to persuade the women in question to get out of bed after a pretty large session the night before.
Would you believe it, it was! So at 13:00 (not too early) we brought both or hangovers and man flu to the gates of the Tower. And then I got really lucky.
Each ticket comes with the tour by the Beefeaters and includes the entrance for the crown jewels exhibit. This is great for 2 reasons, firstly I didn't have to think on a weekend, secondly I didn’t have to pay extra as I normally would have. Now what you need to understand is that I have been here loads of times (admittedly all between the ages of 5 and 11) and went to uni just opposite the entrance. Would I enjoy it? Would it seem like a detour on my commute home? Thankfully none of the above were true. We both loved it.
It’s one of the best attractions in the UK for making you feel a sense of national pride (if only when American tourists gasp when told it was built before 1906) and you’ll be surprised about how many facts that you can remember from those school history lessons. Make sure you set aside a good few hours though, as you get quite a lot included for your ticket price. The guided tour takes around 60 mins and you need approximately 30 mins to see the Crown Jewels. It’s also worth noting that the Tower shuts around 16:30.
So I pulled a blinder with the Tower tickets, now I just need to work out how to watch the rest of the six nations without distraction!
Sean Collins
16/02/09
Sean and Dan are escaping the shackles and trying to fit in more good stuff. Follow their adventures at http://sftw.typepad.co.uk/
Book tickets to the tower here
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