“The first thing you need to know,” said our tour guide David, standing at the meeting point in the cavernous Westminster Hall of the House of Parliament “is that you will need to place all your personal belongings into a locker before we start the tour.”
I had not long arrived at the Houses of Parliament, entering via the Cromwell Green visitor entrance and going through the airport-style security to reach the meeting point for my tour of the iconic Elizabeth Tower, the ornate clock tower that houses the capital’s famous Big Ben bell. I had been wanting to join one of the Big Ben tours for a while and finally I was lucky enough to secure a ticket.
I also wanted to take as many photos and videos of the tour as possible – both as personal keepsakes and to share here and on my Instagram. Unfortunately, however, the Houses of Parliament had other plans.
David explained that owing to reasons of security (and, I suspect, guides not wanting to corral 16 snap-happy tourists up 334 spiral steps) filming of any kind is not allowed. So we all stored away our bags and waited for the tour to start.
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Big Ben Tours
Big Ben is the great bell that hangs inside the Elizabeth Tower, the official name for the clock tower designed by architect Augustus Pugin that forms part of the Palace of Westminster.
More commonly known as the Houses of Parliament, this is where the UK Parliament meets and includes the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
It’s one of London’s most loved sights and has been ringing across the city since 1859. It’s also become a popular London tour, offering visitors the chance to see behind the scenes of this famous clock tower and to stand next to the Big Ben bell as it strikes the hour.
Tours can take a maximum of 16 people although only 10 showed up for my tour and we assembled in the cavernous Westminster Hall with our guide David. The medieval Westminster Hall is the oldest building on the Parliamentary estate and has played a pivotal role in British history.
“The hall was used for many purposes,” explained David. “Including for coronations, the most expensive of which was that of George IV that took place on 19th July 1821.”
The ceremony, held in nearby Westminster Abbey, was followed by a lavish banquet in Westminster Hall that cost approximately £250,000 – the equivalent of roughly £27 million in today’ money. Not surprisingly given the expense, this was the last coronation banquet to be held here.
Introduction over, it was time to head up the tower and we followed David out of the hall, across a courtyard and to a small wooden door, the one and only entrance to the Elizabeth Tower. Once inside, David gathered us in a room decorated with pictures and dates, and told us how the tour is structured.
If you have visited London at any point in the last few years – or live here – then you’ll know that Big Ben spent five years under scaffolding as renovation work was carried out.
What was initially supposed to be a fairly straightforward scope of work spiralled into a far more complicated – and lengthy – project when contractors realised that the tower was much more damaged than originally thought.
In addition to making the Elizabeth Tower more structurally sound, exhibition rooms within the tower were improved and updated with seating areas, photos and memorabilia.
Climbing the Elizabeth Tower
Introduction over, it was time to start climbing the stairs. There are 334 stairs in total, spiralling upwards to the top of the tower and the famous bell. Fortunately, you don’t have to climb the narrow 334-step tower in one go: the tour is well organised so that there are rest points along the way.
The first stage of the tour climbs 114 steps after which it’s time to take a seat in one of the exhibition rooms where David told us some interesting facts about Big Ben. Then it’s time climb some more stairs up to room number four where you get another breather and the chance to learn how the tower was designed and built.
The Mechanism Room
One of the highlights of the Big Ben tour is the mechanism room. As our tour guide David said, “this is a lot more interesting than it sounds”.
Located at the top of 290 steps, the mechanism room lets you see the inner workings of Big Ben and the four-sided clock. It’s an impressive system of weighty cast iron cogs and steel ropes that turns delicately to ensure that the clock keeps time and – surprisingly – is adjusted using pre-decimal pennies.
The tour is carefully timed so that you are in the mechanism room when Big Ben and the quarter bells ring at 45 minutes past the hour so that you can see the inner workings of the clock mechanism in action.
The Belfry
Timing is everything with this tour and David led us up the final set of stairs to the Belfry in time for the bells to ring on the hour.
We arrived with time to spare during which David told us the history of the famous bell and how its unique sound is because of a crack that appeared when it was hit with a hammer that was too heavy. Given that this was the second time a crack had appeared in the 13 ton bell (the original had to be recast), this bell was simply rotated one eight of a turn and a lighter hammer was installed.
Standing in the Belfry when the world-famous Big Ben bell sounds is a truly unique experience – ear plugs are provided on the tour and it’s highly recommended that you wear them when the bells ring!
Make sure to soak up the views of London while you’re up here, you can see for miles across Central London with some of the city’s most popular sights on display including Westminster Bridge, Parliament Square, the London Eye standing alongside the River Thames, and Buckingham Palace.
The Clock Dials
The final part of the tour was one of my favourites when you get to walk around all four sides of the clock. Standing behind the clock face – which is so familiar to both UK residents and visitors and which has appeared in so many movies – and watching the clock hands slowly turn is a truly unique experience and one of the most unique things to do in London.
From here the tour descends, stopping briefly to learn a bit more about the tower before heading back to the hall.
Is the Big Ben tour worth it?
This is one of the most original things to do in London and I highly recommend joining a Big Ben Tour if you can get a ticket. It’s a fascinating insight into the iconic Big Ben, one of the nation’s most loved monuments and something that is truly unique to London.
If you are lucky and Parliament is sitting when your tour ends then you may be able to watch debates in both Houses from the public galleries. The galleries are open to the public Monday to Thursday (and some Fridays) although timings differ each day. There’s no charge for this, ask your guide for more details.
You can also combine a Big Ben tour with a tour of the Houses of Parliament.
These offer a fascinating insight into the workings of British parliament and include plenty of fun kid-friendly stories such as that of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot and the peculiar tradition of slamming a door in Black Rod’s face (Black Rod is a senior office in the House of Lords charged with controlling access and order within the house).
Things you need to know about the Big Ben tour
- Tickets are released on the second Wednesday of every month at 10am and can be booked up to three months in advance. It’s well worth setting a reminder to go online, this is one of the most popular tours at the Houses of Parliament and tickets always sell out very quickly. Tickets can be booked here.
- You do need to be reasonably fit and mobile in order to walk up the 334 steps but don’t worry, the tour is not a race and everyone is welcome to climb at their own pace.
- As I already mentioned, you do need to place all personal belongings in a locker (they provide lockers with keys) and you are not allowed to take any photos or videos. This is non-negotiable (I tried – and failed – to negotiate!).
- There’s a cafe and toilets in the Westminster Hall as well as a gift shop.
- The nearest station is Westminster Station.
- Tours take 90 minutes.
- Tours cost £30 for adults and £15 for children aged 11 and over.
