Tower of London – A Traveling Fool

January 8, 2026

London Adventure: Special Night Tour of the Tower of London Plus the Ceremony of the Keys

On the way back to the hotel after visiting the Benjamin Franklin House, I stopped in at a grocers and bought a few items for dinner. We were supposed to meet at 8:15pm at the Starbucks across the road from the Tower of London. At 7:45pm, I took a cab from the taxi stand outside of the Charing Cross Railway Station.

The tour actually began at 8:30pm. We had fourteen people in the group. Our guide held the rank of Yeoman Clerk, which is a notch higher than a Yeoman Warder, but below a Yeoman Gaoler or the Chief Yeoman Warder. Yeoman Warders (nicknamed “Beefeaters”) are required to have at least 22 years of service in the British Armed Services; must have reached the level of Chief Warrant Officer or equivalent; and hold a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. There are female Warders as well as male among the 35 currently serving.

Each Yeoman Warder lives at the Tower along with their family. They act as historians and guides, as well as ceremonial guards and guardians of the Tower and the Crown Jewels. They were founded as part of the Royal Bodyguard in 1485 by Henry VII.

The Tower of London is officially His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London and was founded towards the end of 1066. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was initially a resented symbol of oppression inflicted upon London by the new Norman ruling class. The castle was also a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham) until 1952 (the Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence.

As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. The Tower has also served as an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England.

The tour began outside of the Tower. We walked to the river where we listened to the early history of the Tower. We also watched the Tower Bridge raise itself to allow a ship to pass through.

A couple days before VE Day in May of 2025 a special installation of poppies had been completed at the Tower to remain until Armistice Day in November of that year. It was called “The Tower Remembers” and consisted of nearly 30,000 ceramic poppies to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II.

We went to look at what later became known as Traitors Gate (built by Edward I as his water gate in the 1270s) so we could see what the poppies looked like there before we entered the Tower precincts. The current wharf did not exist then, so Saint Thomas’ Tower (just above the gate) looked out directly onto the Thames. This tower contained a large hall (for dining and entertaining) and a bedchamber.

Then we entered through the Court Gate in the Byward Tower. The Byward Tower was built by Edward I’s father, Henry III, earlier in the 1200s and reinforced in 1381 under Richard II following the Peasants Revolt. This was where Anne Boleyn had entered, first to wed Henry VIII (1533) and later to be executed (1536). The fourteen of us were the only visitors in the Tower at that point.

Once we entered, we walked along Water Lane to the other side of Traitors Gate to look at the poppies there and to hear more about that gate and where the river had originally flowed. There is a large iron ring on the wall of the gate of the Bloody Tower (just opposite of Traitors Gate). This is where boats would tie up many centuries ago. It was the original water gate entrance.

Originally called the Garden Tower, the Bloody Tower had been built in the 1220s. It was the story of the two young Princes in the Tower, in the 1400s, that lead to the change of its name. This was also the part of the Tower complex in which Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned for thirteen years during the reign of James I (1600s).

We entered the Inner Ward through the Bloody Tower gate and made our way to the Scaffold Site Memorial. The actual site of the scaffold has been determined to have been behind (north of) the White Tower and not in front of the Chapel of Saint Peter Vincula, where the memorial is located. There our guide talked about the handful of royal beheadings that took place within the Tower walls: Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole (Countess of Salisbury), and Robert Devereax (Earl of Essex).

The remaining executions were mostly on Tower Hill, which is outside of the actual Tower. Although there were a few executions in more modern times (WWI and WWII) that took place within the walls of the Tower. These were firing squad executions.

Our guide then talked about a photo which another visitor took of the memorial. This photo supposedly caught the face of Anne Boleyn. He showed us where she had stood when she snapped the shot and showed us the photo. When he began to answer some questions from the group, I moved to the spot from where the photo was taken and took my own photo. It is included here and looks very much like hers did. What do you think?

From there, we walked to what is now thought to be the true location of the scaffold and chatted a while about both the White Tower and the Crown Jewels. On every other visit I have made to the Tower, I have always explored the White Tower. I believe I have only visited the Crown Jewels twice.

From here we could see the Martin Tower over in the northeastern corner of the complex. It was built during the reign of Henry III in the 1230s. It was originally known as the Jewel Tower as it was used to house the Crown Jewels and other royal treasures until the Jewel House (which was part of Westminster Palace) was built.

Over the years, the Martin Tower was used for various purposes, including as a records office, a private residence, a royal mint, and a storehouse for artillery. It was during the 16th century that the tower received its current name after a notorious prisoner named John Martin was held there.

In the centuries that followed, the Martin Tower continued to play an important role in the history of the Tower of London. During the reign of King Charles II in the 17th century, the tower was used as a prison for high-ranking prisoners, including the Duke of Monmouth, who was executed on Tower Hill in 1685.

At one point, torture devices were displayed in the Martin Tower. I remember seeing a replica of the rack there on one of my earlier visits. The current display of torture devices is now housed in the lower part of the Wakefield Tower.

Our guide pointed out where his own lodgings were located. They were in the building that used to be the Old Hospital Block. Originally built in 1718 as two houses to accommodate Ordinance Clerks, the houses were combined to create a hospital for the Tower garrison. During World War II a bomb destroyed the house on the left in the photo included here. It was rebuilt after the war. More recently both houses were reconfigured into flats for some of the more senior Yeoman Warders.

Heading back towards Traitors Gate, we passed the Lanthorn Tower. This tower was built as part of Henry III’s queen’s lodgings, but was gutted by fire in 1774. The present building is 19th century. Inside, a selection of real 13th-century objects illustrate the lifestyle of Henry III’s and Edward I’s courts. Edward I’s son Edward II (1307-27) stayed in this east side part of the castle when in residence at the Tower. The Lanthorn Tower was eventually adapted into the king’s chambers.

We passed by the area that had once been the Innermost Ward. But the Great Hall, which had formed a large portion of the Innermost Ward, and the rest of that part of the complex is long gone. The entrance to the White Tower is on the south side of that tower. That would have been within the Innermost Ward. We walked along what would have still been part of the Inner Ward to go through the Henry III water gate and back out to Water Lane in the Outer Ward.

To get back to Traitors Gate, where we were going to hang out to watch the Ceremony of the Keys, we headed along Water Lane towards the appropriately spooky looking Wakefield Tower. Oddly enough, it was the only photo I took with my mobile phone that was a bit fuzzy.

The Wakefield Tower was built by Henry III as royal lodgings between 1220 and 1240 and originally sat at the river’s edge. Henry was able to arrive by boat and enter his rooms from his private stairs.

The principal room was likely a private audience chamber. It now contains a replica throne and canopy, based on 13th-century examples. This features the Plantagenet lion – the symbol of the royal family.

The small chapel is associated with Henry VI who died in 1471 while a prisoner in the Tower during the Wars of the Roses. One side said he died of melancholy upon hearing his son had been killed in battle. His supporters said he was stabbed to death while praying there. Either way, with his death upstairs and the current display of torture devices downstairs, I would say the place has a right to its ghostly atmosphere.

We apparently had a little more time before about 40 other visitors and several other Yeoman Warders and a detail of guards would be joining us to witness or participate in the Ceremony of the Keys. So we were taken a bit further down the Water Lane to see where the Royal Mint was once housed. It was back near the Byward Tower on the appropriately named Mint Street. Then we walked back to Traitor’s Gate to take up the choice spots, just across from the gate of the Bloody Tower, before the others arrived.

Every night, for about 700 years or so, the Yeoman Warders have performed a gate-closing ritual known as the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. The ceremony begins at 9:52pm, when the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in red, appears from the Byward Tower, down by the river, and makes his way along Water Lane carrying a candle lantern in one hand and the King’s Keys in the other.

At Traitors Gate, he is joined by an armed guard of four men (which included our guide) and, together, they take a tour of the precincts, locking each of the gates that lead from the Tower. All guards and sentries on duty salute the King’s Keys as they pass.

The Escort to the Keys locks the Outer Gate and they walk back to lock the oak gates of the Middle and Byward Towers. They then return along Water Lane towards the Wakefield Tower where, in the deep shadows of the Bloody Tower archway, a sentry waits and watches.

As they pass through the Bloody Tower, they are challenged by the sentry there on duty who shouts “Halt. Who comes there?” “The keys”, comes the reply. “Whose keys?” “King Charles’ keys.” “Pass, King Charles’ keys. All’s well.”.

The Escort to the Keys proceeds through the Bloody Tower archway and up towards the broadwalk steps where the main Guard is drawn up. The Chief Yeoman Warder and escort halt at the foot of the steps and the officer in charge gives the command to the Guard and escort to present arms.

The Chief Yeoman Warder moves two paces forward, raises his Tudor bonnet high in the air and calls “God preserve King Charles.” The guard answers, “Amen”, exactly as the clock chimes 10pm and The Duty Drummer sounds The Last Post on his bugle.

The Chief Yeoman Warder takes the keys back to the King’s House and the Guard is dismissed.

The rest of the onlookers were escorted to another side gate in the complex and we were taken back to the Court Gate in the Byward Tower and left that way. Our Yeoman Clerk guide now had the lantern and keys with him so our little group could see them close up and even have our pictures taken with him and them. I enjoy the photo I have included here because he seems to be looking a bit askance at me like he might be concerned that I can’t be trusted and could possibly try to take the keys from him and run amok in the Tower.

Next time – A full day at Westminster Abbey

December 15, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of my own ancestry within an area makes me feel more connected to it

Probably as part of my love of history, I also trace my family roots. Some people just stick to one part of their family. I don’t. I trace both sides and all the little branches that stem off from them. It has been some of those branches where I have found some of the most interesting ancestors, including the occasional saint or not so much a saint.

Full disclosure, one of Richard III of England’s henchmen, William Catesby, who has been considered to have possibly been one of the men who murdered the two princes in the Tower of London, and who died at Bosworth along with his boss, is a 16^th great grandfather. But then I share that particular ancestor with the Game of Thrones actor, Kit Harington, so that’s alright. I’m descended from Catesby’s daughter, Elizabeth, while Kit is descended from his son, George.

Since I had some Viking (Norse) ancestors head down from Norway to settle on Orkney, I definitely loved being able to spend some time on Orkney, exploring some of the places they would have been. Then we get into Scotland where there were many, many ancestors running around. One was actually murdered in Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

Loads of ancestors all over England and Wales too. A Scottish de Ros ancestor acquired the original version of Belvoir (pronounced “Beaver”) Castle through marriage in the 13^th century. When his male line died out, the Manners family (a de Ros nephew who became the 1^st Duke of Rutland) took over and still owns the place. When I visited the castle, I was on a tour. But my tour group was small and given a private tour of the castle by a member of the staff. We were also greeted by the Duchess at that time.

In the United States, I have a lot of ancestral ties to Massachusetts from the 1600s in places like Plymouth, Boston, Marblehead, and Salem. In Boston especially I know where my ancestors lived and where some of them are buried. It was so wonderful to be able to walk around in that area and try to imagine back to when they were there.

For the Grand France River Cruise, I had printed out the names, dates and birthplaces of my French ancestors. There were a few hundred of them. That way, as we traveled around, I could have some context of which ancestors were from where and when.

In Arles, all of my ancestors were from such an early period of time that it was possible that some of them might have lived in houses that were built in the Arena when that was no longer used for its original purpose. The time period that those houses existed was the same as the time period of my ancestors.

I had ancestors from all over Burgundy, but I don’t necessarily know the individual towns. So, when we got to that part of France, I just took loads of photos of anything really old. I also drank a fair amount of the wines from that region.

In Normandy, I had many, many ancestors. A couple of the main towns in which they lived were Bayeux and Rouen. There were parts of both places where I felt transported back in time and could easily imagine what it might have been like in their day.

I started on my genealogical quest back in the days when I had to physically go into a library and study the microfiche and other items they might have and then send away for birth, death and marriage certificates, etc. Having access to online data sure does help enormously. There are a lot of things that can be found out without ever paying any money to anyone.

Although I love traveling to every place to which I have traveled so far, I have to admit that I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I am someplace where I know my ancestors have been and I can get an idea of what their lives might have been like.

January 31, 2021

My First Real Trip to Anywhere – Part 2

In 1983, my first real vacation trip to anywhere, inside or outside of the US, was to London with my mom. We had both wanted to go there all of our lives. We were finally there and were overwhelmingly thrilled.

After finally getting a good night’s sleep, we headed out to the Museum of London. One of the things that I love about this museum is that its exhibits are in chronological order, beginning with what has been unearthed in London from prehistory. The building itself straddles part of what remains of the Roman wall that used to surround Londinium and was enlarged to surround Medieval London up until the time of the Great Fire of 1666. Many of the exhibits take you back to a specific time in London’s history, such as Victorian London or during the Great Fire of 1666.

From the Museum of London, we walked a few blocks to St Paul’s Cathedral. I was especially interested in the crypts with the tombs of Admiral Horatio Nelson, Sir Christopher Wren, and the Duke of Wellington. This version of the cathedral had been built by Wren after the Great Fire destroyed the previous version. There had been a cathedral on the site since 604 AD.

From St Paul’s, after lunch, we set off for the Tower of London. On the way, we stopped at the former Roman Forum where the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange and the Lord Mayor’s Residence could be seen. Then we headed towards the river so we could take a look at the Monument to the Great Fire at the head of Pudding Lane, where the fire began at a baker’s shop. I have a real interest in history and love to visit places where historic events took place and picture what happened there.

We should have backtracked up to Eastcheap instead of making our way along Lower Thames Street. Rookie mistake. I did not realize that the area was not the best until I saw that we were totally alone and then noticed that we were being followed by a couple of men. That was when I steered Mom north towards Eastcheap. Fortunately we made it safely to the Tower. It is always important to be aware of your surroundings and try to walk along in more populated areas.

In 1983, not as much of the Tower of London complex was open as there is now. Many, many changes have be made over the years to make it a truly remarkable experience. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the wonderful Yeoman Warder (other than that there are now females as well as males). These folks are very, very knowledgeable and very personable. Talking to one or more of them during a visit can give you a lot more knowledge as well as some cool ghost stories (and often a lot of legends). They live there at the Tower and experience some amazing things after all of the visitors are gone. Starting your tour of the complex by joining one of their tours is well worth it.

The Victorian Tower Bridge is another structure that I find fascinating. On this particular trip, we did not cross the bridge, but did so in 1991 so we could also explore the part of London over on the other side of the Thames.

Instead of taking the underground back from the Tower, we started a tradition of taking the boat back to Westminster Pier and walking back to our hotel from there. Since that trip, every time I have been in London with or without Mom, I have always taken the boat to Westminster Pier, no matter how I got to the Tower in the first place.

The following day, we started out at the British Museum. I was really impressed by the Babylonian and Assyrian monuments as well as the Greek statues and Elgin Marbles. The Rosetta Stone was wonderful to see. We were amazed that we could get so close to it. Then there were all of the Egyptian statues and mummies. I had seen one mummy in a small museum when I had been a child. Here there were rooms full of them. It wasn’t until I went to Egypt and visited the Cairo Museum that I saw an even larger display of mummies and other Egyptian artifacts.

We also visited the British Library and looked at some original works by Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare, as well as a copy of the Magna Carta.

After lunch, we visited Dickens’ London home on Doughty Street. This was where he completed The Pickwick Papers, wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, and began Barnaby Rudge. Mom and I were the only visitors at the time and had a costumed guide all to ourselves. We enjoyed having a private tour with a fellow who knew all about Dickens and the house and looked like he had just stepped out of one of Dickens’ novels.

Before heading back to the hotel, we took the tube to Marble Arch. This monumental arch used to stand in front of Buckingham Palace until Queen Victoria had it banished to its current location at a roundabout. We walked along Oxford Street towards Piccadilly to do a little bit of shopping. I ended up getting one of those bulky, cable knit, highly British sweaters for 14 GBP.

Next time – My First Real Trip to Anywhere Part 3 – where Mom and I experienced the Trooping the Colour (and saw the entire Royal Family, including Princess Diana), visited the Royal Tombs in Westminster Abbey, and took the boat to Greenwich.

August 23, 2020

The Tower of London & Scotland Yard

Since my hotel was next to the Thames, it was a short walk along the river to Westminster Pier. I set out right after breakfast and was surprised to see several police officers in front of my hotel and all along the way to the pier. They smiled at me, so I wasn’t too concerned. I didn’t seem to concern them either. Maybe there was someone famous or royal in the area. From what I learned later, it might have been different if I had headed towards Whitehall instead of staying along the Embankment.

At Westminster Pier, I bought a round-trip boat trip ticket to the Tower of London along with the admission ticket to the Tower. It was a savings to get the package. Also, I wouldn’t have to stand in line to buy a ticket once I got to the Tower. I just needed to exchange the voucher I was given, which was a much shorter line.

Along the way, I took a few photos – especially of the places I couldn’t take photos of the previous year due to the heavy rain when I was on the river. The Globe Theatre was one of them. This time I sat on the open upper deck of the boat where I could see both sides of the river quite well.

There were really large crowds at the Tower when I arrived, including all of us that had been on the super crowded boat. I guess I picked the same day to go to the Tower as everybody else in London. This was my first time back to the Tower since 2003 – fourteen years.

The White Tower was built in 1078 and the general layout of the entire complex has been in existence since the 13^th century, renovated during the reign of Henry III (the same guy who rebuilt so much of Westminster Abbey). In the years that I have visited the Tower, there have been different towers open and different exhibits and changes in location of some of the items they keep there. I was given a map to the Tower complex along with my ticket and noticed that there were several more changes from when I was last there.

To enter the Tower, it was necessary to open my nylon bag in which I carried my camera, map and other items for inspection by one of the Yeoman Warders (aka Beefeaters). Since being a Yeoman Warder is a reward for retired service members who had excellent records and some retired service people are now women, I experienced some female Yeoman Warders on this trip for the first time. The one who looked through my bag, jokingly tried to pocket the Cadbury hazlenut chocolate bar I had in there (along with a granola bar).

I think I have mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of large crowds and tend to do whatever I can to avoid them when possible. So, when I saw the masses grouped around a Yeoman Warder who had his back to Traitor’s Gate, I decided to forego the Yeoman Warder tour this time (as wonderfully entertaining as it is) and went up the stairs to the St Thomas Tower. The photo I have of the crowd was taken from the top of the stairs just before I entered that tower.

St Thomas Tower, which is the half-timbered structure over the Traitor’s Gate, had never been open any of the other times I had been there from 1983 to 2003. By 2017, the bedchamber had been restored to what they believed it looked like under Edward I (who built that tower). There was also a display showing how the walls were constructed in the Hall (a large room where the King could dine and entertain).

I crossed a small arch connecting the St Thomas Tower with the Wakefield Tower (built by Henry III) while allowing people to pass underneath down on the pavement between the outer wall and inner wall. An audience chamber from the time of Edward I had been recreated in the Wakefield Tower. This too was new. The throne was based on the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey and was painted to look like it might have looked in the 13^th century. In the private chapel just off of the audience chamber, King Henry VI was murdered in 1471. When the Wakefield Tower had been open on prior visits, it had been stark and empty.

The St Thomas, Wakefield and Lanthorn Towers are all that is left of the Royal Apartments. From the Wakefield Tower I came out onto the walls between the outer ward and inner ward for the wall walk. Some of the remaining ruins of the rest of the Royal Apartments could be seen on the grounds of the innermost ward.

On the wall walk, I passed through the Lanthorn, Salt, Broad Arrow, Constable, Martin, Brick, Bowyer, and Flint Towers. The walk ended at the Devereux Tower near the Chapel. When I was there before, it had ended at the Martin Tower. Back in 1983, the wall walk had consisted of coming out of the Bloody Tower and down the stairs.

As I walked along the walls, down below, I could see medieval tents, costumed interpreters from several eras, and sculptures of some of the animals that had lived there when the Tower had a zoo. They didn’t have all that when I was last there. They also didn’t have any place to eat or any gift shops within the Tower precincts before.

Between the Martin Tower and the Brick Tower, I could look down at the fronts of some of the Yeoman Warder houses built against the outer wall in the outer ward. One thing about living at the Tower, they are there at night when all of the tourists are gone and the ghosts remain. Some of them have related some pretty scary stories over the years.

When I came down from the wall at the Devereux Tower, I walked out to the Tower Green. This was where the executions of people who they wanted to keep out of public view took place. They were beheadings. More public executions of prisoners at the Tower (beheadings or hangings) took place outside of the walls on Tower Hill. These were still royal or noble persons, not regular people.

Beauchamp Tower had much more of it open and contained displays. It is known for its graffiti by the many prisoners it had housed over the centuries, especially the 15^th and 16^th centuries. The one that I have always found poignant was Lady Jane Grey’s name scratched into the wall by her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley, shortly before they were both executed. She was only 17 and he was not that much older. The Beauchamp Tower was also where Lady Rochford, Henry VIII’s 5^th wife Catherine Howard’s Lady in Waiting, was imprisoned. Lady Jane Grey and Lady Rochford were both buried in the Chapel.

After visiting the Beauchamp Tower, I went for some lunch at a spot between the Wakefield and Lanthorn Towers facing the innermost ward and the White Tower. I had an enormous smoked bratwurst with mustard and onions. There were a couple other lunch spots to sit down indoors and have more of a sit down meal. But it was a lovely day and I thought sitting outside would be preferable.

After lunch, I visited a display of torture devices in the lower part of Wakefield Tower. Other times when I had been there, they had exhibited the rack in the lower part of the Martin Tower. The lower portion of Wakefield Tower had not been open to the public then. Afterwards, I climbed the steps to the Bloody Tower.

Before entering the Bloody Tower, I took a photo of Traitor’s Gate with the St Thomas Tower above it through the arch of the Bloody Tower. The portcullis of the Bloody Tower can also be seen in the photo. Once inside, I took a shot of the rest of the portcullis.

The Bloody Tower is famous partly for housing Sir Walter Raleigh for several years (1603 – 1616). His room was still furnished as it had been every other time I had been there.

The Bloody Tower’s other claim to fame is the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. The room where the two children had supposedly been imprisoned was no longer furnished. It was just bare this time. I think it is because they really don’t know for certain where the princes were kept.

The bones of two children were discovered beneath the stairs leading to the White Tower back in 1647 and were reburied at Westminster Abbey in the chapel where Elizabeth I was also buried. They had gone missing, while under their Uncle Richard III’s care, in 1483.

On my way to climb the stairs to the White Tower, I encountered a female Yeoman Warder chatting with a knight in chainmail. The Yeoman Warders have been in existence since the time of Henry VIII, but the knight was definitely from a much earlier era.

The White Tower was chock full of stuff. Before, much of it had been sparsely decorated with a few suits of armor – notably one owned by Henry VIII – and a few scattered others. The Line of Kings (dating from the 17^th century) had been refurbished. This consists of carved wooden horses accompanied by the armors of numerous kings. I had never seen them all before.

The Chapel of St John, which had always been bare, was decorated and furnished, but no photos were allowed. Every floor had loads of items, including an amazing amount of armor, and weapons (swords, daggers, bows, guns, spears, axes, mace, cannons).

After a parting photo of Traitor’s Gate, I headed for the boat to return to Westminster Pier. At the boat I was told that Westminster Pier was closed due to high tide and rough waves. They suggested that I go to Greenwich instead. The boat would be there for about a half hour, by which time it would be okay to go to Westminster Pier. By the time we got to Greenwich, it was raining heavily, so I just stayed on the boat and went through the photos I had taken that day on both my camera and my phone.

Roughly a block from my hotel, along the river, is Scotland Yard. As I went by to return to my hotel, I could see loads of police officers with automatic weapons drawn. There were also loads of television cameras. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to whip out my camera or phone, so I just walked on by as unobtrusively as possible.

It turned out that the real reason the boats weren’t going to Westminster Pier earlier was because Scotland Yard was involved in the take down of a terror suspect on Whitehall close to 10 Downing (the Prime Minister’s residence and offices). He was then taken to that particular building where he was being held. Both Whitehall and the Embankment had been shut down and were just reopened shortly before they let the boats return to the pier. It was all on the BBC that night.

Next time – first part of a Heart of England & Wales tour with Rabbie’s