Book Creator | G8a Travel Guide

Welcome
to our

LONDON

TRAVEL GUIDE

As the Corona virus didn't really let us travel much this year, and also put us in quarantine A LOT (!!), we used the time@home and took some kind of virtual trip – to London, as you can tell from this book's cover page.

We travelled the internet...

... and learned what tourist can do in the famous capital of England.

Maybe you`ve been there before, maybe you will go there one day. Anyway, read on the following pages what you can do :)

G8a English Class of 2020/21
at WRG SW

The Tower of London

The Tower of London is a fortress that was built in the Greater London region of England, on the north bank of the Thames, in the 11th century. In those days, it was used for military purposes, for example as an arms store and as a prison. Today the Tower of London is a museum where you can see the Crown Jewels. The fortress is also setting in many dramas and novels by Edgar Wallace and Shakespeare. It was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. The Tower of London is managed by the Historic Royal Palaces and is owned by the British Crown.

Opening times:

Summer
(01 March - 01 November)
Until 23 October
Wednesday-Sunday:
10:00-18.00
Last admission:
16:30, buildings
within the
Tower close
at 17.30.

Tower of London

The Tower of London

Every year 2.5 million visitors visit the Tower of London, making it the most popular paid attraction in the UK. Here's what you need to know about visiting the Tower of London.

Closed:
24 - 26 December
1 January - Closed

Open:
Sunday 27 - Thursday 31 December:
9 am - 5 pm
Last admission: 15:30, buildings within Tower close at 16.30.

Every year 2.5 million visitors visit the Tower of London, making it the most popular paid atraktoin in the UK. What you need to know about visiting the Tower of London.
Opening times and prices (pound):
https://www.londonmalanders.com/tower-of-london/

2 January - 12 February:
Wednesday - Sunday:
10:00-17.00
Last admission: 15:30, buildings within the Tower close at 16.30.

Tower of London

Entrance fees:
Adult (age 18-64) £25.00
Child (age 5-15) £12.50
under 5s go free, children aged 5-15 must be accompanied by an adult.
Concession £20.00
Age 65+ or 16-17, full-time student, disabled visitor
Family saver 1 £37.50
1 adult & up to 3 children (aged 5-15)
Family saver 2 £62.50
2 adults & up to 3 children (aged 5-15)

The address of the Tower of London.

QR code to the location of the Tower of London

The Gherkin

The building was designed by the famous architect Norman Foster from Foster and Partners architecture firm.

The Gherkin has 41 shops and a height of 180 metres.

The total area of the building is approximately 47,950 square meters.

There is a club meeting room on top, which offers a 360-degree-view of the entire capital.

The building has a steel frame and a glass facade with diamond-shaped panels. The energy saving system of full contact, that the visible rotating stripe pattern allows the air to flow up through the spiral duct.

Furthermore, the Gherkin is one of the most trusted confidential architectures in town.

Photo by Alex Tai on Unsplash

The Gherkin has won several architecture prizes and in 2005 it was named the most admired new building. It is also used in many films including "Harry Potter" and "The Half-Blood Prince".

It is the 10th tallest building in London and the UK.

Photo by Alex Motoc on Unsplash

The gherkin is closed with 24,000 square feet of outside glass, or the equivalent of five soccer fields.

Over 35 km of steel were used to construct the Gherkin.

Here is a video from the Gherkin , Enjoy it .

Big

Ben

Hello everyone!
Interested in Big Ben?! Here are some facts:

Big Ben is probably the most famous clock tower in the world and one of the most famous landmarks in London. Unfortunately, only the British are allowed to visit the Big Ben. Until 2021 no visits are possible because there is a renovation going on. The clock tower is already 161

years old and was last renovated in 1985. Therefore renovation work is urgently needed.
Big Ben is almost completely encased in scaffolding. The historical place deserves a visit anyway.

It is 320 foot (96m) tall and has 11 floors. The tower has no elevator. If you want to visit the bell tower, you first have to climb 334 steps. Its official name has been Elizabeth Tower since 2012, but most people call the clock tower Big Ben.

Did you know that Big Ben has its own Twitter Account??

Location:

The famous clock tower is located directly on the banks of the Thames, in the Westminster district. The Big Ben is directly connected to the Palace of Westminster, where the Parliament meets.
The Big Ben is easy to get to by Tube. It‘s best to take the Circle (yellow), District (dark green) or Jubilee (grey) line to “Westminster Station“. From there you can see the famous tower across the street. You can also take one of the many red double decker busses.
On the opposite side of the Thames there is the London Eye, you can reach it via Westminster Bridge. Nearby, there are the famous Westminster Abbey, St. James‘ Park and Buckingham Palace.

Here you can find a map of London:

Map of London

Tip:
You have a good view of the Palace of Westminster from the bank opposite and from Westminster Bridge. But you can take the best photos from the London Eye.

The clock:

Even before the renovation work, four mechanics were busy around the clock. These four mechanics have the official title “Keeper of the Great Clock“. There is a clock on all four sides of the tower. You can see the clock faces from far away. Each of the four clock faces has a diameter of 7 meters and consists of 312 individual parts. The minute hands are 4.3 meters long and weigh 100 kilos. The pendulum of the clock is 3.9 meters long and has a total weight of 299 kg. The clock is the second largest in Great Britain 🇬🇧.

Under the clock faces is written in Latin „Domine salvam fac reginam nostram Victoriam primam“, which means „O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First“.

The bells:

Big Ben is the name of the thirteen ton bell. Because of its size, it was named "Great Bell". It is the largest und heaviest bell. Big Ben is the short form of Big Benjamin. The bell was named after the first commissioned of work, Sir Benjamin Hall or after the heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt. There are five bells in the clock tower, about 200 feet from the ground. The most famous one is the great bell Big Ben.

Chime/Stroke of the bells:

You can normally hear the clock tower from far away, but the clock remains silent during the renovation. The Great Bell strikes every full hour according to the time. The British call the stroke of the bell “The Voice of Britain”. The four little bells play the world-famous Westminster chime every 15 minutes. Because the bells will remain silent until 2021, here you can listen to the Westminster chime: