Clarendon 2016 Clarendon Minories | Page 5

Out & About With a number of things to do locally the most obvious is The Royal Palace and Fortress – Tower of London. Famed for its role as prison this lead to its morbid reputation of torture and death, despite this only 7 executions took place there, being much more commonly held at Tower Hill. It also served as a menagerie with many exotic animals, today the only evidence of this are the Tower’s seven ravens, their presence is believed to protect the Crown and the Tower, superstition states that ‘if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it.’ Today the Tower is one of London’s most popular tourist attractions – so come early and get ahead of the crowds. Another local attraction is the Tower Bridge Exhibition which explains how the bridge works and describes its interesting history. The tour culminates in the Victorian Engine Rooms, which display the steam engines which once powered the bridge. The Bridge itself was built in the late 19th Century as the result of commercial development in the East End requiring a new river crossing downstream of the historic London Bridge. Across Tower Bridge, South of the river and housed in an old warehouse is The Design Museum. Founded in the late 80’s by Sir Terence Conran it is the ultimate museum and celebration of product, industry, graphic, fashion and architectural design. For one hundred years the Whitechapel Gallery has been responsible for introducing the world’s best artist to the East End which have included Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Frida Khalo. Recent development has almost doubled the size of the gallery. Aldgate Station is the meeting point for the London Mystery Walks led by Paul Mansfield who has 13 years experience and has been featured on a number of documentaries about Jack the Ripper. The tours meet at 7pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening. Other tour topics include; Ghosts and Executions, Shakespeare and Dickens, Harry Potter’s London, Ethnic Cultural Tour, Treasure Hunt, the VIP Chocolate Tour and Amsterdam (Sex, Drugs & Rock and Roll). www.clarendonuk.com Int/Mob: +44 1784 489 200