Tower Bridge set for £4m makeover

Tower Bridge is one of London's most photographed icons. The famous bridge is set to have its increasingly down-at-heel exterior stripped down to its original base. Then over 20,000 litres of blue and white paint will be applied to the bridge. The work is due to commence this month and is scheduled to take three years to complete.

The operations manager at Tower Bridge, Eric Sutherns, told The Times (Monday, 14 July)the bridge would not be totally encased in scaffolding. "People will still be able to take their photo from angles where you can't see the work going on."

The bill for the work will be £4 million, but taxpayers will not have to foot the bill. The restoration will be paid for by the Bridge House Estate. The Estate was established by monks, and, according to The Times it is now worth some £700 million.

Tower Bridge opened to the public in 1894. The 244 metre long structure was designed by Sir Horace Jones, an architect, and John Wolfe Barry, an engineer. The bridge was deemed necessary to cope with the ever growing volume of goods and people crossing the river.

Originally, Tower Bridge was painted brown. It was given a coat of red, white and blue paint in 1977 to mark the Queen's Jubilee.

Visitors to London can hear about Tower Bridge's history with the Ride & Stride, London walking tour or the City & South Bank Circular audio downloadable walking tour. To hear an audio sample from the City & South Bank Circular, London travel guide, please click here.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London. All of the London visitor guides are available in English, French, German and Spanish. All of the London iPod travel guides with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular can be completed in two hours.

A Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable walking tour is not like a conventional walking tour. With a Walk Talk Tour you're in charge. No need to struggle to keep up - let alone hear or understand - the tour guide with the umbrella. No need to feel conspicuous with a guidebook in your hands.

Sightseeing with children? Do they drive you to distraction? With a Walk Talk Tour you can stop and start as you see fit. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, you can visit one of the numerous attractions on each tour's route and then resume your tour once the clouds have lifted.

Make the most of your Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tour by checking our Where & When pages - which accompany each tour - to find out the opening times and admission charges of key attraction on each tour's route.

Walk Talk Tours are divided into commentary points. Listeners will hear about the personalities and history behind landmarks and lesser known buildings. Walk Talk Tourists then receive instructions which inform them as to how to reach their next commentary point. Simply press pause and then play once you reach your next commentary point. Each Walk Talk Tour comes complete with a downloadable map, so you won't miss a thing! Each commentary point corresponds to the same number on the map. For example, Tower Bridge is commentary point Twelve on the Ride & Stride mp3 guided tour.

Each Walk Talk Tour of London costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off.