The Tower of London is one of the oldest buildings in London. If you like castles, it is worth a visit, though it is not cheap to get in. It has always been referred to as the Tower, but really it should be called London Castle. It has thick walls, battlements and a moat, though you won't see it filled with water nowadays. You can walk all the way around, including the riverside, without having to pay.

              The view from the river is spectacular. You can see, to your right, London Bridge which is the site of the oldest bridge in London though the current one is quite recent, the 1970s; to your left is the far more impressive Tower Bridge which is panned by architectural enthusiasts for being Victorian pomp, but loved by everybody else. You will be lucky if you see it opening wide to let larger boats go by, but this is not a forlorn hope as it does happen almost daily if not more. You can see the HMS Belfast, a Second World War warship moored on the other side of the river. The unusual shaped building to the left of this is the Mayor of London's offices or, as the London taxi drivers describe it, Ken's Palace, after London's New York style mayor, Ken Livingstone*. Where you are standing, along the bank, and probably to either side of you are London plane trees.

*Succeeded by the equally New York style Boris Johnson in May 2008.

Trees of London        A James Wilkinson Publication ©