Exploring London’s Tower Bridge (and the London Bridge that isn’t in Arizona)

Exploring London’s Tower Bridge (and the London Bridge that isn’t in Arizona)

Hey everyone, welcome to Sidetrack Adventures. This is Steve. Behind me is the London Bridge. And previously, we’ve done a few videos that have featured an older version of that bridge, one that’s currently located at Lake Havsu in Arizona. So, we figured while in London, we should check out the replacement. But I think when a lot of people picture the London Bridge, they’re not actually picturing this, but a different bridge. One that’s located just a little bit down the river. And that is the Tower Bridge. So today we’re going to head over there as well, explore it, check out its history, and see if we could take a look around inside. We are currently in the heart of the city of London, right on the river temps. I don’t think it looks as cool as the one in Arizona, but this is the London Bridge. The London Bridge has its roots in the very foundation of the city. Around AD50, shortly after the Roman conquest of Britain, the Romans built a wooden bridge across the river Tempames, forming the basis of the settlement that would become Londinium. That original bridge stood somewhere near here. It allowed Roman legions, merchants, and travelers to cross the river and connected Lendinium to major roads leading to the rest of Roman Britain. Underneath the bridge here, there are some light posts from the previous version of the bridge, the one that could be currently found in Arizona. And the rest of these light posts can be found in Arizona as well. Looks like there’s the remains of some infrastructure down here. The original Roman bridge was likely destroyed either by Buudaca’s rebellion in AD6061 or by natural deterioration. Several wooden versions would follow in the centuries after. We are on top of the bridge now and you can see the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral to our left. And of course, as soon as I say that, a bus passes in front of it. And looking the other direction, that tall building is called the Shard and it is the tallest building in Western Europe. These dragons mark the boundary of the city of London, and there’s one on each side of the road here on the south side of the bridge. The most famous and historically significant version of the London Bridge was the Stone Bridge built in 1176. That bridge would stand for over 600 years and was an incredible feat of medieval engineering. Built of stone arches, the bridge was over 900 ft long and supported by 19 peers. It even included a draw bridge to allow tall ships to pass. By the 1300s, it was lined with houses, shops, chapels, and even a gate house. At one point, there were nearly 200 buildings on it, some as tall as six stories, leaning out precariously over the river. There are even several people in recorded history who lived their whole lives on the bridge, never leaving it. Also, from the 1300s on, the southern gate house became a gruesome display case. The severed heads of traders were placed on spikes as a warning. Most famous was probably the head of William Wallace of Braveheart fame in 1305. Others included Thomas Moore and Guy Fox. Over the centuries, parts of the bridge either collapsed or were burned down and had to be rebuilt. The bridge became increasingly unsafe and obsolete, especially as traffic increased in the 18th and early 19th centuries. This is probably the same version of the London Bridge that the famous London Bridge is falling down nursery rhyme is about. The medieval bridge was finally demolished in 1831 and replaced with a more modern version. That bridge was here until 1967 and that is the one that is currently at Lake Havsu in Arizona. This plain looking replacement was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973. And I have to say, the older version in Arizona looks so much better than this current one. But enough about the London Bridge. It’s time to head downstream and take a look at a bridge that does look amazing. The Tower Bridge. Oh yeah, there’s an urban legend that they thought they were buying the Tower Bridge when they bought the London Bridge to move it to Arizona. That’s not true. They knew what they were buying. That ship approaching the Tower Bridge right now looks like it might be too big to fit underneath. So, we might get to see it open up as we walk over to it. Unfortunately, our view was blocked when it was actually opening, but here it is. The bridge is actually what’s known as a Bascule bridge, meaning each half of the road could pivot upwards like a giant lever. When this was built, this was cuttingedge technology. But we’ll get more into the history of the bridge once we get over to it. On the way to the Tower Bridge, we’re passing by the Tower of London. Construction on this was ordered by William the Conqueror and began in 1078. It was designed to protect against rebellion and intimidate the locals. Right in the shadow of the tower bridge are what is known as the queen steps where royalty used to enter the tower grounds after sailing down the temps. Anne Bolin came up these steps in 1533 where she was met by King Henry VIII to be crowned queen of England and unfortunately for her three years later she was back again to be beheaded. The Tower of London, of course, is famous for all the executions that took place here, but the last execution was probably more recent than you’d think. It was during World War II in 1941 when a German spy was executed. Well, we’ve made it. Let’s take a look around underneath and then we’ll head up top and then we’ll head to the very top. Here’s a memorial stone laid by Prince Edward, the future King Edward IIIth on behalf of Queen Victoria in 1886. That’s when construction on this bridge began. We’re going to head under the Tower Bridge now. And I know I’m harping on the London Bridge, but how do you go from making a bridge like this to that? It seems like a huge step backwards designwise. And I’m not sure what this is here. I would expect to see Queen Victoria’s initials here since she was the monarch when this was built. But I’m not sure what letter this is. It doesn’t look like a V to me. [Music] This little tombstone looking thing over here, this is a War Department boundary marker. These used to mark the boundaries of land owned by the War Department. They can be found all over England. And I believe this probably dates to the 1920s. But let’s head up the stairs and go get a closer look at the Tower Bridge. In the late 1800s, London was in the middle of a massive population boom. The East End was growing rapidly and the Tempames was the busiest port on Earth. That caused a huge problem for the city. How do you get people across the river without blocking ship traffic? The only bridges were upstream. London Bridge, Black Friars, and Westminster. None were east of the Tower of London. But if you built a fixed bridge down here, it would block tall mass ships from entering the port. So, in 1876, the city launched a design competition. Over 50 different proposals came in, including ones that look like space age contraptions that were in no way realistic for the time. Eventually, the winning design came from Sir Horus Jones, the city architect, and John Wolfberry, a brilliant civil engineer. Here’s a dedication plaque for the bridge. But right next to it is this small door. Now, I know this was built 130 years ago, but I don’t think people were this much shorter back then. I don’t know. Maybe Tower Bridge also has some pretty neat lamp posts. Construction began in 1886 and took eight years to complete. Tower Bridge is made up of 11,000 tons of steel, which gives it its strength. But all of that steel is hidden. The bridge is covered in Portland stone and Cornish granite to make it match the medieval look of the Tower of London. Tower Bridge officially opened on June 30th, 1894 with a ceremony led by the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward IIIth. People packed the banks of the Tempames to watch this engineering wonder in action. One of the bridges features are directly above us right now, and those are the walkways that go between the two towers. In the middle of the walkway, you can see that it has one of those glass floors. I know a lot of people are freaked out by those, but hopefully we should be getting a closer look at that in just a bit. Here’s the middle of the bridge where it opens. It opens about 800 times a year for river traffic and it’s free for ships to pass. Legally, if a boat meets the height requirement and gives 24 hours notice, the bridge must open. Here’s one of the booths where the bridge operators work. There is one of these on each side of the bridge. And here’s a look at the tower bridge from the south side. It looks like we found the bridgem’s dining room, though it doesn’t look like it’s currently open. And it has another small door, so they must not be feeding them too good. I think it’s time to head into the tower and head up top. After we buy a ticket at least. All right, we’re heading on in and we’re taking the stairs. There doesn’t seem to be any line for the stairs at all. Everyone else seems to be taking the elevator, including my wife. There are supposed to be 206 stairs to the top. There are a few signs as you go up the stairs, but as the towers are just shells to cover up the metal bridge, there isn’t a lot to see going up. And of course, as I say that, we come across a scuba diver. You can see some of the metal frame here. But I think we’re about halfway up right now. And here are some of the windows you can see from outside the tower. Here’s a closer look at one of those grand windows you could see from outside. So, this is what’s behind them. We should be getting near the top, but it looks like we’ve made it to the restrooms. So, we know at least that this tower does have plumbing. I hear a lot of noise up ahead. So, I know we must be near the top because I haven’t seen a single other person climbing these stairs. Well, I guess I did see some people resting down by the scuba diver, but nobody actually on the stairs. You definitely aren’t missing much by taking the elevator. Or I guess because I’m in England, I should call it a lift. These aren’t real bricks. We’ve made it to the top and to the walkways. These were built and originally open to the public so people could still cross the bridge when it was raised. But people weren’t too fond of climbing 200 plus stairs. And I can’t say I blame them. So by 1910, these walkways were shut down and legend has it they became a hideout for pickpockets and prostitutes. They must all be on the other walkway right now because I don’t see any over here. Apparently, when the bridge was first built, people thought it was quite ugly. Here’s a quote about it from the time. All right, let’s check out the glass floors. These were just added in 2014. And there is the bridge below us. You’ll see a lot of people walking off to the side of these, afraid to walk on them. And when you’re ready, I want you to come all the way down. Oh, it looks like there’s a window here that we can open to get a better picture. So, here’s the River Temps looking east. Here’s the center. Hopefully, we’ll still be up here when this thing opens up again. One problem about being up in the Tower Bridge is you don’t get good views of the Tower Bridge. Here’s a little bit better look. Let’s go ahead and head into the south tower. So, this is the south tower. I think from here we can access the other walkway. But you can also see just how hollow these towers are from right here. Here’s another window. Let’s see if we could stick the camera up here and get a view of something. Hopefully, we can see something right here. I can’t see the screen to tell. So, here’s the other walkway. No pickpockets or prostitutes over here, but a bunch of people wearing the same Hawaiian shirt. Normally when we’re filming videos, we’re out in the middle of nowhere or there’s not a lot of people around. Have to say it’s it’s a little awkward to be filming in a crowd like this. But here’s a look towards the west and the London Bridge. Wow. According to this sign, in 1952, the number 78 bus jumped the bridge while it was open. And I’d sure like to see that. You know, the only day of the year that they don’t open the bridge is when the London Marathon is going on. And I personally think it’d be a lot more exciting if they did open the bridge during the marathon. I mean, it would probably get me to watch. Well, actually, it probably wouldn’t, but it would still make it more exciting. This walkway seems to be out over the water a little bit more. And we have a boat coming through right now. Unfortunately, not one that’s big enough for them to raise the bridge for, but still cool to see this go right underneath us. And this video is not sponsored by Uber. [Music] This is about the best shot I can get of the Tower of London from up here. During World War II, the Tower of London was bombed 15 times, but surprisingly the Tower Bridge was never bombed. Apparently, a bundle of hay has to be suspended from the bridge anytime there’s work going on on it. You would think with modern technology they would come up with a more advanced system, but I guess a bundle of hay is the best way to let people know that there’s work taking place. And it looks like we’re coming to the end of the walkway here. And we’ll have to turn around and head back to the south tower. All right, let’s head down. And once again, I’m going to take the stairs down. You’d think there’d be a few people heading down the stairs at least. But no, it seems like everybody’s still heading towards the lift. So, once again, I’m alone on the stairs. Just me and this cartoon dog and cat I’ve been following the whole time. Down at the bottom, we should be able to visit the engine room. Here’s a marker on the floor for one of the construction companies. I’m going to assume this is 1886, 1887. Here’s another small window, but it looks like we’re currently facing east. We’re heading to the engine room right now, but I thought this was pretty cool. On the south side of the bridge, there’s a pub underneath it. The bridge originally had a steam engine. These engines ran 24 hours a day, every day for nearly a century. In 1976, they were retired and replaced by electric motors. Tower Bridge may not be as old as some of the other landmarks around London, but it’s definitely become one of the city’s most recognizable sites. So, that’s our look at London’s Tower Bridge. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed the video, please give it a thumbs up, consider subscribing, and we’ll see you next week.

The Tower Bridge is one of the best known landmarks in London, but compared to other London landmarks, it isn’t that old. Still it has an interesting history, and I’ve always been curious to what is actually inside of it. With a little bit of extra time on my hands during a family trip, I decided to head over and explore it.

A lot of people mistake the Tower Bridge for the London Bridge, but they are two separate bridges. Having visited an older version of the London Bridge that is currently located in Lake Havasu a number of times, I also wanted to take a look around the replacement (Arizona got the better bridge).

In this video we explore both the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge inside and out and talk about their histories.

Our video on the London Bridge at Lake Havasu, Arizona: https://youtu.be/WnSpOnn7Akk

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