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.
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.
posted by Ashlee at 10:08 pm
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