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During the approach to Heathrow Airport, we’ve been able to see river Thames and Tower Bridge from the aircraft. From there you feel a wonderful vibration of the mighty world metropolis of London.
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is among the first things that come to mind when you think of London. However, Tower Bridge may not be the first place you visit as the bridge is in the eastern part of central London. However, the majority of people come here at some point during their visit to London, such is the attraction of the bridge. Plan your visit both in daylight and at dusk, or in the evening when the bridge lights up in a truly unique way. As well, from the Walkie Talkie Building you have a lovely view of the bridge and the adjacent medieval castle Tower of London.
London had started to grow eastwards in the 16th century and the exploitation really picked up speed in the 19th century. By 1875 plans had begun for a bridge to make the new East End more accessible from the south side of the Thames. It was also necessary that the bridge could open high enough for boats with tall masts to pass. In 1884 a winner had been chosen and two years later construction began on the bridge which would take eight years to complete. The foundations of the two towers were dug down by divers, a sod at the time. It was necessary to get six meters down into the mud under the water of river Thames and that work took three years to complete.
Nowadays it’s mostly tourist boats that need a bridge opening and you don’t have to be lucky and happen to pass by when it’s time. The bridge openings are scheduled several weeks ahead and you can see the calendar here at Bridge Lift Times. The boats go towards the city first and stop already at the next bridge, which is London Bridge, and many go back the same way a while later. This means, that with the right planning, you can attend two bridge openings in a short time.
You can travel completely safely over the bridge, but of course, since the completion of the bridge in 1894 there have been some incidents. In 1952, there was a manual stop signal at bridge opening but a bridge guard failed to flag it on one occasion. A double-decker bus with passengers came onto the part of the bridge that had begun to open. The driver picked up speed and jumped with the bus over to the other half of the bridge. It was only the driver who was injured with a broken leg, but of course he was also hailed as a hero.
In May 1997, US President Bill Clinton’s motorcade was on its way from a lunch with then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and was surprised by a bridge opening. The motorcade was split on either side of the bridge opening, much to the chagrin of the security personnel.
You can book a visit to the High-level Walkways, which is at a height of 42 meters. They were built to allow pedestrians to cross the river while slow sailing vessels passed at the bridge opening. However, the footbridges were closed already in 1910 when they became hangouts for prostitutes and robbers. It wasn’t until 1982 that the interior of the bridge was opened to the public with a permanent exhibition. Since 2014, there are glass floors in the footbridges, which has become a popular tourist trap.
The glass is seven centimeters thick and in six layers, where the top layer is replaced at regular intervals so that the view remains as clear as glass. If you don’t want to stand, walk or lie down on the glass floor, there’s also a narrow wooden floor next to the glass floor that you can use. From up here you can see the boats coming in the distance and then passing through the bridge opening directly below you with expectant tourists and some with smoking chimneys.
Remember to visit the museum with the old steam engines. In these, 20 tons of coal a week were shoveled and 80 men were required to shift work to be able to handle a bridge opening at any time of the day. In the year of its inauguration in 1894, the bridge was opened almost 6,200 times, or just under 20 times a day. In contrast to today’s tourist boats, which need bridge opening on a yearly average just over twice a day. Until 1976, it has been fired with coal and since then the bridge opening has instead been given an electronic solution.
