Day 3 - High Tea at the "Tower Bridge"

Mike and I decided to have our "High Tea" at the "Tower Bridge" today. There wasn't any tea, but the view was great!

Originally, London Bridge was the only crossing over the Thames River. As London grew, more bridges were added, but these were all to the west of London Bridge, since the area east of London Bridge had become a busy port. In the 19th century, the east end of London became so densely populated that public pressure mounted for a bridge to the east of London Bridge (which is in Lake Havesa, AZ), as journeys for pedestrians and vehicles were being delayed literally by hours. Finally in 1876, the City of London Corporation, who were responsible for that part of the Thames, decided that the problem could be put off no longer. The bridge was built over 8 years and even survived the World Wars.... with only a "knick" from a bomb.

When the bridge was built it needed to serve 2 purposes....allow traffic to cross from the quickly growing city of London, and allow the ships to come through to continue to do business. Therefore, the bridge is a lift bridge that does just that. It is still used today, but has been converted from steam powered hydraulics to oil and electricity. Ships need to request passage under the bridge at least 2 weeks prior to their entry.

Tourists are able to take elevators to the walkways, 432 feet above the bridge, which allowed us to have a "brilliant" view of the city. Go to the "Day 3 Slide Show" to see the views!

We were able to go up to the top of the bridge and get "brilliant" views of London to the north and south. This was great, since we had only seen it in at night AND in the rain!