Part 8 of 8Tagging along to London

One last look at London

A hop-on, hop-off bus around the sights, the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, and the flight home.

Tower Bridge and the Shard across the Thames, seen over the battlemented outer wall of the Tower of London under a cloudy sky.
Tower Bridge and the Shard over the walls of the Tower of London, 4 May.

4 May was our last full day of sightseeing. We had two plans: a hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus, and a visit inside the Tower of London.

On the bus

We chose the bus mainly for convenience.

A tree-lined riverside promenade with a bronze sphinx on a plinth and a boat on the Thames, seen from the top deck of a bus.
The Victoria Embankment from the top deck, 4 May.
The columned front of the National Gallery and the spire of St Martin-in-the-Fields above Trafalgar Square, with a red open-top bus in front.
The National Gallery and St Martin-in-the-Fields.
A giant sculpture of a swirl of whipped cream topped with a cherry and a fly, on a plinth in Trafalgar Square, with Nelson’s Column behind.
The sculpture on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
A wide view of the Thames from Waterloo Bridge, with the London Eye on the left bank and the river curving away under a grey sky.
The Thames from Waterloo Bridge.
Looking ahead along a road to the towers of Tower Bridge, with a black taxi in front, seen from the top of a bus.
Approaching Tower Bridge.

The Tower of London

In the afternoon, we went inside the Tower of London. On our first full day in London, we had only seen it from the outside.

A stone chamber with a pointed arch, a canopied throne behind a red barrier and a carved stone fireplace with a painted coat of arms.
Inside the Medieval Palace.
A boy in a green jacket standing beside a tall black metal sculpture of a figure holding an axe, on a stone walkway by a tower. His face is pixelated.
Beside a sculpture near the Salt Tower.

We visited the Jewel House and saw the Crown Jewels, including the crown with the Koh-i-Noor diamond. Photography was not permitted inside.

The long, battlemented front of the Waterloo Block, with two square towers and a clock over the entrance, and visitors crossing the open space in front. Faces are pixelated.
The Waterloo Block, home of the Jewel House.

Home

On 5 May, we flew home from Heathrow on Singapore Airlines SQ317 and arrived in Singapore on 6 May.