Day 2 Eltham Palace & the Tower of London

Eltham Palace and the Tower of London.

The boyhood home of Henry VIII is high on a hill with a commanding view of the city of London. The Great Hall of the old palace is the substantial structure still left from the great days of the Palace. The moat is still there running three quarters of the way round and there are huge carp lazily swimming around in the sunshine. It’s easy to imagine a young carefree Prince Henry running away from his sisters and tutors and trying to catch some fish. Henry grew up here in the company of his mother, grandmother and sisters until he was 10 then history came calling to Eltham. The Palace was substantially rebuilt in the 1930’s by Stephen and Virginia Caulthault in an Art Deco style that would not have been out of place in the first class lounge of the Titanic. There are inlaid marquetry panelled walls, specially commissioned furniture and carpets around the rooms. You can literally pass from one world to another just by stepping through a door. On to Central London and the Tower of London by river boat to see Traitors gate from water level as Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Elizabeth I would have seen it. The Tower is a great place to visit and on a Sunday afternoon when the crowds are going home is the ideal time to see the Crown Jewels . The new exhibition is really good , much better than the previous one and it really heightens your anticipation of seeing the incredible and magnificent Jewels of the Nation.

We walked over Tower bridge and for the first time in my life I saw workmen abseiling(rappelling) off the iron work, sooner them than me. The day was finished off with fish and chips in the George Inn Southwark the oldest galleried Pub in London and one where Shakespeare played. Is this the setting for Romeo and Juliet?