Tower Bridge and The Monument

• Tower Bridge Exhibition’s Engineering Tours are returning from November to give visitors the opportunity to see the inner workings of the most famous bridge in the world
• The behind the scenes two-part tour includes access to out-of-bounds areas including the Bridge Control room and the Bascule Chambers
• Ticket price: £50 per person which includes the new souvenir guide book and access to Tower Bridge’s thrilling high-level walkways and Glass Floor for a unique perspective of London, 42 metres above the Thames
• https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tower-bridge-engineering-tours-tickets-18607476463#
• As part of Museums at Night, Tower Bridge Exhibition is hosting two exclusive out of hours Engineering Tours on 27 October. Please see http://www.towerbridge.org.uk for further details
• Engineering Tours take place during Tower Bridge’s three month road closure: an essential maintenance project managed by the City of London, offering visitors a unique window into the conservation works through the Glass Floor
• Visitors are advised to allow extra time crossing the bridge while the works take place (1 October – 30 December)

Ever wanted to get behind the scenes at the iconic Tower Bridge? Now is your chance. November sees the return of the Bridge’s famousEngineering Tours, offering visitors the chance to experience the inner workings of the most famous bridge in the world, used by over 40,000 people every day.

The Tour

Led by one of Tower Bridge’s experienced guides, the two-hour tours, which cost £50 per person are divided into two parts. Part One includes an audio-visual discovery of the Tower Bridge Exhibition which explains the fascinating history of the Bridge and its construction. Visitors can experience the thrill of the panoramic Walkways, suspended 42 metres above the River Thames withfar-reaching views across London, before discovering the atmospheric setting of the Bridge’s Engine Rooms. These feature the magnificent restored steam pumping engines, accumulators and boilers that were used to power the bridge lifts until 1976.

Part Two of the tour is led by one of the Bridge’s Senior Technical Officers who will escort visitors to several areas normally out of bounds to the public, including the Bridge Control Room and the immense Bascule Chambers below river level.  The tour also includes the Machinery Room, which houses the impressive hydraulics that power the lifting of the Bridge. Visitors can discover just how the Bridge works today and ask our experts any questions they may have.

Coinciding with the new Engineering Tour dates is Tower Bridge’s Road Closure which takes place from 1 October to 30 December. Whilst Tower Bridge Road will be closed to vehicles during the works, Tower Bridge Exhibition is open as usual. In fact, the essential maintenance works will add a new dimension to the experience as visitors can enjoy an aerial view of the once-in-a-generation conservation works from the bridge’s million pound Glass Floor installation. 

Tower Bridge Engineering Tours 2016

The tours will be starting from Saturday 5th November and running every Saturday and Sunday until 31^st December (excluding 24 and 25 December)

Cost: £50 per person, which includes the new Tower Bridge Souvenir Guidebook. Tours start from 10.30am and last for approximately 2 hours and each tour is limited to 12 places. Individual tickets can be purchased for these tours so, for this special period, there is no need to be part of an organised group with a minimum number. Visitors must be over 14 years old to attend one of the tours, persons aged 14 – 18 years must be accompanied by an adult. 

Further information is available from www.towerbridge.org.uk.

Media contacts:

For further information, images or interview requests please contact:

Esther Saunders-Deutsch or Gael Dunn at Kallaway PR

E: esther.saunders-deutsch@kallaway.com / gael.dunn@kallaway.com  

T: +44 (0)207 221 7883

 

Notes to Editors:

Tower Bridge (http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/)

#InsideTowerBridge 

• Tower Bridge was the creation of architect Sir Horace Jones and civil engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry. It took eight years to complete and was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by the Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra)

• Tower Bridge Exhibition opening hours:

o   Summer Opening Hours: April - September 10:00 - 17:30 (last admission)

o   Winter Opening Hours: October - March 09:30 - 17:00 (last admission)

• Admission prices for Tower Bridge Exhibition:
• Adults: £9
• Children aged 5-15: £3.90
• Groups of 10 children or more: £3.40
• Concessions: £6.30
• Family tickets from £14.10
• Under 5s free

• The nearest underground stations are London Bridge or Tower Hill

• Starting the journey in the Bridge’s north tower, visitors are taken back in time with never-seen-before film footage of Victorian London and the first ever recorded bridge lift.

• The experience visiting the high-level Walkways has now been bolstered with the addition of the glass floor, which gives visitors a unique perspective of London 42 metres above the Thames. Guests are able to tread on the glass floor whilst traffic passes beneath their feet – the glass floor panels can withstand the weight equivalent to one elephant or two London Black Cabs.

• “Look up on London” – a mirror has been installed over the West Walkway’s glass floor offering visitors a dizzying experience of London

• The popular Great Bridges of the World exhibition has been refreshed, now featuring 40 of the world’s most revered bridges, each of which represents a breathtaking feat of engineering.

• Tower Bridge are supported by The City of London Corporation – a uniquely diverse organisation, in that it not only promotes and supports the City and provides it with a full range of services, but provides wider services for London and for the nation as a whole. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk.