Sir Walter Raleigh’s Top Tips For Avoiding Isolation Boredom: A Thread https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">

From 1603, famed courtier, writer and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh spent 13 years imprisoned at the Tower of London on the orders of James I. How did he pass the time? https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤔" title="Thinking face" aria-label="Emoji: Thinking face">

1. Read, read, read https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📚" title="Books" aria-label="Emoji: Books">u2028

Although a prisoner, Raleigh’s accommodation was surprisingly comfortable and spacious. He was given 2 rooms on the upper floor of the Bloody Tower, and had access to the Tower library’s collection of 500 books.

2. Tend to houseplants https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌱" title="Seedling" aria-label="Emoji: Seedling">u2028

During his adventures around the world Raleigh had amassed a collection of exotic plant seeds. He used these to grow a garden in a small courtyard next to the Bloody Tower (which we’ve recently recreated!) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌼" title="Blossom" aria-label="Emoji: Blossom">

3. Write poetry https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖋️" title="Lower left fountain pen" aria-label="Emoji: Lower left fountain pen">u2028

Sir Walter was already a pro at this, but give it a go! Long before his imprisonment Raleigh was celebrated in Elizabethan society for his verses offering personal reflections on universal themes such as love, beauty, and time. Inspired? https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💭" title="Thought balloon" aria-label="Emoji: Thought balloon">

4. Exercise! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏃‍♂️" title="Man running" aria-label="Emoji: Man running">u2028

Raleigh was serious about getting his steps in https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👟" title="Athletic shoe" aria-label="Emoji: Athletic shoe"> He took daily exercise along the same stretch of raised wall next to the Bloody Tower, which to this day is known as Sir Walter Raleigh’s Walk.

5. … https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👀" title="Eyes" aria-label="Emoji: Eyes">u2028

Sir Walter was allowed regular visitors, including his beloved wife Beth. The couple’s second son Carew was conceived at the Tower and born nearby in 1605 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤭" title="Face with hand over mouth" aria-label="Emoji: Face with hand over mouth">

6. Brew home remedies https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧪" title="Test tube" aria-label="Emoji: Test tube">u2028

Raleigh was a keen chemist and alchemist. Be careful with this one though — his homemade ‘Great Cordial’ was an alarming mixture of 40 ingredients, including deer antler and ambergris (a secretion from a sperm whale’s intestine) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="☠️" title="Skull and crossbones" aria-label="Emoji: Skull and crossbones">

7. Start that big creative project https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💭" title="Thought balloon" aria-label="Emoji: Thought balloon">u2028

Take after Sir Walter and be ambitious! In 1614, the first five volumes of Raleigh’s epic ‘Historie of the World’ were published, all of which were written at the Tower. The book was a huge success, reprinted many times during the 1600s.

#OTD in 1616 Raleigh was finally released from the Tower, on orders to lead a new expedition to Guiana in search of gold https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💰" title="Money bag" aria-label="Emoji: Money bag"> Unfortunately, things didn’t end well…

Find out more about Sir Walter Raleigh’s extraordinary life on the HRP website: http://bit.ly/WalterRaleighTOL">https://bit.ly/WalterRal...