SNAPSHOT: Tower Bridge and the Thames- not your usual tourist shot.

SNAPSHOT: Changing of the guard

SNAPSHOT: An especially frosty morning in Harrow

Greenwich

An easy day trip from London… because it is actually in London… Greenwich is a lovely historic area on the River Thames with a picturesque park, cute shops and a special claim to world fame. Ever seen those little letters GMT? They stand for Greenwich Mean Time, and all world time is based from the Prime Meridian, which is located at the Royal Observatory which is, of course, in Greenwich.

Pronounced “Gren-itch” (not “Green-witch” like my travel partner for the day insisted), Greenwich is easily explored in a day. If you catch the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) to Cutty Sark, you alight in the middle of the village shops. It’s just a short walk to all the tourist attractions.

The most obvious attraction is the Observatory, which is on a hill in the middle of Greenwich Park. The park is lovely, very green, and the view from the Observatory over the surrounding area is well worth climbing the rather steep path. Admission to the Observatory is free, and you can straddle the east and west hemispheres of the world at the Prime Meridian. There are also displays inside about astronomy. My travel partner pointed out that there wasn’t really much information on how they figure out the time and how come they decided on Greenwich as the starting point or anything, and I have to agree. I think the Observatory could have done with having some more information. But it was free, so I guess one can’t really complain.

A nice ramble down the hill and through the park takes one to the beautiful buildings that now house the Royal Maritime Museum. The museum has many interesting exhibitions, all with a maritime theme of course, as well as interactive displays ideal to keep those troublesome kids (or 20-something year old Australian backpackers… we actually stood and waited for some children to stop using a scuba diver game) entertained. Once again, entry to the museum is free… and you have to love that!


You can then continue to ramble down towards the water, walking through the University of Greenwich and taking in the vistas of the beautiful Christopher Wren designed buildings that make this village so special. You will find a boat called the Cutty Sark lodged in the pier at Greenwich- you can pay to go in and find out more about it, but frankly I had learnt enough about boats for the day.

If you visit on the weekends, there are markets in the town selling art and craft wares. All your usual shops can be found in Greenwich, and my companion and I decided to enjoy a nice English pub lunch in a nice English pub that I forget the name of. But it was nice, and very ye olde English… except for the giant screen showing the football, but one could block that out.

Greenwich has a very relaxed village like feel to it, and it takes about 45 minutes to travel from central London using the tube and DLR. You can also access Greenwich by ferry or boat.

Oxford

Known as the city of dreaming spires, Oxford’s main attractions are the historic university colleges that form part of the University of Oxford, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of education. This picturesque town, only about an hours drive from London, has a meandering river, grassy knolls and historic buildings and is more bustling than one would expect, especially on the weekends. If you drive, as we did on our visit, it is probably best to use the park and ride facility (where you park outside the city and catch a bus in) than to try and find a parking spot, because they are limited and expensive.



The town centre, with all the usual High St shops, is close to the university colleges and you can easily get around the main sights on foot. There is a sightseeing bus tour though of Oxford, which is kind of funny because it’s not really big enough to warrant it. You can also pay and go on a walking tour organized by the tourist information centre.

We walked around… without a map, which probably wasn’t the best option. But we did get to see a lot of the colleges, which are marvelous- some of the university buildings date back to the 1200’s. The tight cobbled streets are fun to walk around, and seeing what you discover down these well traveled paths is part of the joy of walking around Oxford.



One of our discoveries was the covered market, an indoor shopping area made up of delightful old shops, selling a huge range of different items. One of the stores that we found most charming included a store which sold beautifully decorated cakes and had a large range of marzipan creations in the window. You could watch as the women inside worked.

Also, the university has some museums which are free for the public to enter and view.

It’s probably best to go to Oxford with a map in hand, because I saw a lot of great things but am unsure of what the names of them are. But it is a really lovely place, definitely worth a day trip from London. Buses depart to Oxford regularly from the main stations in London.

Hostel review: Wake Up! London

I stayed at Wake Up! London for three nights when I first arrived in London at the start of January. I was in a single room, and found it a comfortable and friendly hostel. The facilities were basic, but they were clean and worked just fine. The communal kitchen was handy, and the TV lounge was a good place to hang out. Phones and internet were also quite convenient. The staff were really friendly and helpful- they even refunded my money after I needed to shorten my original booked stay by a night. The room I was in had a television and hand basin, with shared bathroom and toilet facilities. The beds had clean linen and towels were provided. The heating was adequate, so despite the cold weather it was cosy inside.

The hostel is located about a 10 minute walk from Paddington station, which makes it handy to the London Underground, the Heathrow Express and National Rail services. The area is also well serviced by buses, has a Sainsbury’s Local for groceries, a few local pubs and many fast food restaurants. The neighborhood was pleasant, with many private gardens and lovely terraced houses.

All around I would recommend this hostel. While the prices weren’t cheap, they were reasonable by London standards.

Their website is at http://www.wakeuplondon.co.uk.

Camden Markets

Favourite words to describe markets, such as hustle and bustle, don’t even go close to recounting the atmosphere down at Camden markets every Sunday. The environment is brilliant, and lovers of markets will enjoy rummaging through stalls, twisting their way through narrow passageways and enthusiastic crowds. Camden is host to many different markets that all kind of meld into one big moving mass of people. There is a great range of fashion in many different styles; punk, goth, boho, vintage, mod, Bollywood. There are also loads of jewelery, art and craft stalls, with up and coming labels and designs. You can grab some bargains, but if you want to save your pounds (but it is hard not to be tempted by the huge range of cool stuff), the markets are also a great place just to look around and people watch; from the punk princesses with bright hair and pleather corsets, women working with steaming woks trying to sell you some tofu stirfry if they even think you may have looked in their direction and tourists trying to snap photos despite the continually moving crowds, the markets stimulate all the senses. Some of the most memorable stalls include one which exclusively sells glow in the dark things for ravers. The food at the markets is also reasonably priced compared to the rest of London, and is mostly cooked right in front of you. You can pick up a curry or Asian meal for around ₤3.50- ₤4.00.



There isn’t much more I can say about the markets, it’s really something that one needs to experience themselves. With an upbeat young funky vibe and plenty to look at it definitely warrants several hours spent perusing on a Sunday, even if the weather is poor.

Camden Town station on the Northern line is right in the middle of it, but be careful because the tube is just as busy as the markets. Buses also service the area from many parts of central London.