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The classic route starts from the Tower of London

THE TOWER OF LONDON

When it was built in 1078, the Tower of London was seen by the Anglo-Saxon English as a hated symbol of Norman oppression following William the Conqueror’s invasion in 1066. However, over the centuries it became a cherished symbol at the heart of London, Britain and the British Empire. It is said that if the ravens that live there should ever leave, the kingdom will fall. The tower has been used as a fortress, royal palace, armoury, treasury, the home of the royal mint and is nowadays a museum holding important national collections including the British crown jewels. For over eight centuries (1100–1952) it also housed a prison, mostly for prisoners who had fallen foul of the monarch including the uncrowned king Edward V (imprisoned by his uncle Richard III who took the crown for himself), Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII) and Sir Walter Raleigh. The heart of the complex is the White Tower, the oldest and best-preserved Norman stone keep in Britain. This is surrounded by other buildings, two sets of encircling walls and a moat, which is nowadays dry. A poignant use of the moat in 2016 saw it filled with 888,246 ceramic poppies in commemoration of British and empire combatants killed during the First World War.