Poppies at The Tower of London

This evening we went to see the poppies installation at the Tower of London. It's only going to be around for another few days before it starts to be taken down so it was a case of see it or miss it. The pavements around the Tower were packed with people taking photos of the installation and a jolly good sight is is too.

Tube from Westminster to London Bridge, walk down Tooley Street (with a slight detour into the all-year Christmas Shop) and down London Place to City Hall. Across Tower Bridge and there they are in the moat of the Tower of London, the enormous poppies installation with some great views of the lights of London behind the Tower.

There's a ceramic poppy for every British soldier that died in the First World War and the poppies are planted in the lawned 'moat' of the Tower. A sea of red surrounding the Tower, some bits lit up and others not. It wasn't really planned for an evening viewing but, so popular has it become, that it was mobbed with people and cameras. Everyone seemingly wants to see the poppies.

It really is quite spectacular and the photos don't really do it justice. A sea of red around the Tower walls and thousands of people wanting to see them at any given time. The place was so packed it was difficult to walk round, particularly since most of the walkways and pavements aren't really lit for crowds in the dark. And it was very crowded.

Anyway, here are a few photos of the poppies installation taken with my phone. And doesn't Tower Bridge look splendid!

A Sea of Poppies

To commemorate the beginning of the First World War, the 'war to end all wars', the old moat of the Tower of London is being planted with thousands of ceramic red poppies. This is the latest photo of progress taken by the MPS in the sky (the helicopter bobbies) and it looks pretty complete to me. I think the aim is to have it totally planted before Armistice Day and that should be achieved with ease from the looks of this photo.

The moat covers a huge area and I was in it a few years ago for a world music festival so have walked most of it - it's big! I think there are places where you can get into the moat to see the poppies up close and take photos but suspect that'll be closing in the run up to the day. I'm also vaguely sure that someone said you can buy the poppies after the event for something like £20 each, monies going to the British Legion (I think, but don't take my word for it).

I'd quite like to see the moat covered in red poppies if I can.