I have been to the Tower of London four times. I have queued with the crowds, shuffled past the Crown Jewels with a few hundred other people, and wandered the grounds on a busy summer afternoon along with the other three million visitors who pass through each year. So when I finally got the chance to experience the Tower after dark, for the Ceremony of the Keys, it completely changed how I feel about a place I thought I already knew well.
This is one of those experiences that sounds simple on paper. Every single night, at exactly the same time, the Tower’s gates are locked. That is it. But it has been happening this way for at least 700 years, without fail (with one seven minute exception, more on that below), and it is widely considered the oldest military ceremony still performed anywhere in the world. There is something genuinely moving about standing in a spot where that much unbroken history is playing out right in front of you.
There are two ways to see it. You can book the official £5 public ticket, which is cheap but genuinely hard to get hold of. Or you can go the way I did, with a small private company who get you into the Tower after hours for a proper explore before the ceremony begins. I will walk you through both.
A Little History First
The Ceremony of the Keys dates back to around 1340, in the reign of Edward III, and the story goes that it started after the King himself was once able to walk into the Tower unchallenged one night. He was not happy about it, and the strict nightly locking ritual was born as a result.
Every evening, the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in a long red coat and Tudor bonnet and carrying a candle lantern, comes out to lock the main gates with an escort of soldiers from the duty regiment. It is a short ceremony, no more than about ten minutes from start to finish, but it is steeped in ritual, right down to the exact challenge and response between the Warder and the sentry on guard. It ends with the Last Post played on the bugle.
The only time it has ever been delayed in all those centuries was during the Blitz in the Second World War, when a bomb landed nearby mid-ceremony. According to the story, everyone dusted themselves off and carried on, finishing just seven minutes late.
The Way I Did It: The WalksDevour VIP After Hours Tour
I was hosted on the VIP Tower of London after hours tour, which gets you into the Tower once it has closed to the public, gives you close to an hour with a Yeoman Warder as your guide, and finishes with a viewing of the Ceremony of the Keys itself. Tours currently run from around £170 to £190 depending on the date, so it is not a cheap night out, and it does not include entry to the Crown Jewels or the buildings, since it is a grounds only, after dark experience. But if you are a history lover, or you simply want one truly memorable evening in London, I think it is worth every penny.
Having visited the Tower during normal opening hours four times before, being inside when it was virtually empty was something else entirely. No crowds, no queues, just the floodlit walls, the quiet, and a real sense of stepping back in time. It felt properly atmospheric in a way that a daytime visit, however good, simply cannot match.
Our Yeoman Warder was brilliant. Charming, funny, and full of stories, not just the well known ones about the Tower’s history, but the darker, more human details too: who was brought there and why, the last words and final moments of some of the prisoners held there, what actually happened at various points around the grounds. He also lives at the Tower himself, which added another layer to the evening entirely. Hearing about daily life within those walls from someone who actually experiences it was fascinating.
I visited in July and the evening itself was warm, but it did get noticeably cooler once we were inside the Tower grounds, so I would suggest bringing a light layer even if it is a warm summer’s day. You are also on your feet for the entire tour, walking across cobbles, so comfortable, sensible shoes are a must. There is no seating and nowhere to nip off to comfort wise, so plan accordingly before you arrive.
One thing worth knowing: you are allowed to take photos during the tour itself, before and after the ceremony, but not during the Ceremony of the Keys. I actually loved this rule. It meant everyone in our group put their phones away and genuinely watched what was happening, rather than experiencing it through a screen. There is something quite special about being part of a group where nobody has their phone up for once.
The Budget Way: The Official £5 Ticket
If £170 plus is out of your budget, or you simply prefer to do things the traditional way, you can apply for a ticket directly through Historic Royal Palaces, who run the Tower of London. These tickets cost around £5 each, which makes this one of the best value experiences in London, if you can actually get hold of one.
Here is the catch. Tickets are released a month at a time, usually on the first working day of each month at 1pm, and only cover the following month’s dates. So if you want a ticket for, say, June, you need to be online and ready to book at 1pm on the first working day of May. They tend to sell out extremely quickly, so this takes some planning and a bit of luck. Only between 40 and 50 visitors are admitted each night, which is part of why demand is so high.
If you do get tickets, here is what to expect. You will be told to arrive at 9.30pm precisely, and latecomers are not admitted under any circumstances, so do not cut it fine. The ceremony itself concludes around 10.05pm and you are then escorted out. There are no toilets or refreshments available at any point, and it takes place entirely outdoors, so dress for the weather. As with the private tour, photography and filming are not permitted during the ceremony itself.
Which Option Is Right For You
If you want the full experience, a proper explore of the grounds after dark, stories from a Yeoman Warder, and the feeling of having the Tower almost to yourselves, the private tour is worth the splurge, particularly if this is a once in a lifetime London trip or a special occasion. If you are working with a tighter budget, have some flexibility in your travel dates, and do not mind being glued to a booking page at 1pm on release day, the official £5 ticket gets you to the same remarkable ten minutes of history for a fraction of the price.
Either way, do not leave London without seeing this. I have visited the Tower of London four times over the years, and this was, without question, the most memorable.
Walks Devour were kind enough to host me on this tour but as always my opinions are my own. My link to their website is an affiliate link. That means if you end up booking a tour through this link I may make a small commission.
You might enjoy some of my other articles about London like the best cocktail tour in London, things to do in Kensington, things to do in Notting Hill, the best things to do in London and how to experience the stone circle at Stonehenge.
Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.