The fascinating Tower of London would be a visually striking icon of London even if you hadn't read so many stories of intrigue, treachery, sadness and just historical goings-on to which it's been witness. Having been the site of a fortress of one kind or another for nigh on 900 years, you can't help but feel that you're a small part of London and English history just by being there.

Although I didn't get around to actually getting inside the complex before November, I had already taken many photos of it by then from the outside, including this one from the tour boat the kids and I rode down to Greenwich, in September. The white sheeting around the near right tower was still there in November, indicating major maintenance work going on there.

Here's my blog post describing our Tower tour. And you can see these and many more photos of the place in this Flickr set.

I also took these two photos of the former moat, which is now a greenspace, on non-tour days. I was really taken by the presence of playground equipment (presumeably for the children of the Tower guards, who live onsite), right below the slits through which archers of old fired on forces attacking the Tower. We do live in kinder, gentler, times, now, I suppose.

And here are two more photos taken from nearly the same vantage points, outside the compound. I took the one on the left in September, Henry the one on the right in October—quite a difference, fall foliage-wise!

You get even better views of the compound's centerpiece, the medieval White Tower, from within the complex. Although I do like its graceful pairing with the colorful vines in the pictures above. Here's a closer shot of one of the un-worked-on towers. And a view of the handsome windows along one of its walls.

Here are some views of the White Tower's interior: the impressive Norman chapel, a Norman loo which we thought was just too cool, and a display of pistols in the armoury museum that takes up a good bit of the building's space today:

The White Tower is one of the oldest sections of the complex, but not quite as old as the fragment of an original Roman wall, on the left below. By contrast, the Jewel House on the right (where the Crown Jewels are kept—sorry, no photos were allowed—is of 19th century construction.

We really enjoyed the touring we were able to do during the short autumn afternoon we were there. Here are two photos of different aspects of the Tower complex: ramparts and central courtyard.

Having seen an episode of the BBC's The Tudors earlier in my stay, in which a lot of the grisly action took place at the Tower, I took an especial interest in seeing some of the rooms around the complex where prisoners had been held. The inscriptions in these rooms were beautiful and moving.

But my overall favorite feature would have to be those slits (remember the playground?) and other openings in the incredibly thick walls. The thickness of the fortifications reminds you of the dangerous times in which the structures were built (I would have felt pretty secure behind them!) but they're also just lovely from a visual standpoint.

By the time we took our tour and I was able to see one of the slits from the inside, there weren't too many of the bright red vine leaves left on the walls (see the October photo above). But there was at least one left outside the slit photographed in the center here. Which made this cool architectural feature even more photogenic.

The Tower is located right in the middle of everything, central London-wise, as you can see in these final photos, which feature parts of the Tower plus some of its famous surroundings. On the left, the Victorian Tower Bridge is peeping over a rampart in the photo taken from within the complex, and on the right, the Gherkin (30 St. Mary Axe) lends a surrealistic air to the scene which I photographed while walking past the complex on a sunny September day. Below them is a photo covering some 800 years of British history and London governance: the rounded building across the river is the present London City Hall, contrasted with its ancient counterpart as a seat of power, the Tower of London.

In addition to the official Tower website, the Wikipedia entry for it is extensive, well-organized, and well-referenced. Both websites give lots of historical and other information about different sections of the Tower and the momentous happenings it has witnessed. And don't forget the picture collection in my Flickr set.

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