Program 610: London Layover; Tower of London; Day Trips

Join us for a jolly good "Hour of London": Once we can fly to Europe again, hear how you can plan a quick visit to the city when you have a long layover at Heathrow. Get inspired by nearby day trips that are easy to arrange when you're staying in London. And discover why there's a Ravenmaster who guards a thousand years of history at the Tower of London.

• London-based tour guides Steven Back and Deborah Heyburn
• Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife, author of "The Ravenmaster" (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)
• London-based tour guides Liz Boardman and Jeanie Carmichael

• Tips for temporary luggage storage at Heathrow and in London.
• The Oyster Card, issued by Transport for London, is a prepaid mass transit pass for London that you can order in advance online.
• Tour guide Steven Back offers half-day and full-day tours of London and the surrounding area including Windsor, Oxford, Bath, and Canterbury. His email is [email protected].
• Christopher Skaife is a Yeoman Warder at the thousand-year old fortress, the Tower of London. He's written "The Ravenmaster" about his duties caring for the Tower's ravens. Christopher posts about this work on Twitter.
• Among the day trips from London discussed are Hampton Court Palace, Stonehenge and Salisbury, Bletchley Park, Highclere Castle, Eltham Palace, the Warner Brothers Studios' Harry Potter exhibit, Windsor (Town, Castle, Great Park, and Eaton College), Legoland, Bath, Bristol, and Brighton.
• Tour guide Elizabeth Boardman offers cultural immersion tours in England, from her home base in Bath.
• Jeanie Carmichael offers tours in London and the surrounding area, including Windsor, Canterbury, Brighton, and Hampton Court. Her email is [email protected].

Stracciatella drips
white on burnt Siena bricks
in the Campo heat.
— Oliver Hay, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Shimmering Sea.
The Clamoring of Athens.
We are Delighted!
— Jay Mayhew, Franklinville, New Jersey

Iceland beckons us
Endless days aurora nights
Glaciers await tender feet
— Regina Ann Cooper, Hartland, Vermont

Luxembourg Garden
Red sails on fountain sea…Come!
Ride ponies with me
— Sally Slotterback, Lavelle, Pennsylvania