Greenwich

It's about a 50 minute ride on the commuter train out to the Greenwich area. London is a Roman city and the river of Thames made it easy to transport people and goods out of the city. We saw lots of dock areas and wharves on the way out of town. 

 

Greenwich is the home of the Royal Navy. It is called the Royal Burrrough because of the strong connection with the Royal Family. 

 

We took a quick orientation walk to see the high points before free time. First stop was the Cutty Sark. The Curty Sark used to be a tea clipper that brought tea back from China. Once the Suez Canal opened in 1850s it was repurposed. It was the fastest ship around when it was hauling tea and is now available to tour.  This area is called Maritime Greenwich because as an island Britain had a very strong navy. Right next to the Cutty Sark is the Royal Naval College which still graduates out sailors. It also houses the Maritime Museum. 

 

 

The father of the British King Henry the 8th (the one who had many wives and cut off Ann Boleyn's head) - built the palace here in Greenwich at the beginning of the Tudor era. There was no royal palace in London at the time so they built this palace and there is where Henry the 8th and Elizabeth the 1st were born. In the medieval ages there was a castle higher up on the hill that is now the Royal Observatory. All of these building make up the Royal Park which was used for hunting. The architecture in this part is very classical with symmetrical chapels on both sides of the courtyard. The Royal Navy College is here and there are several museums here now as well as a music school and the University of Greenwich. 

 

 

 

 

King Charles the 2nd started the royal observatory which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who designed St. Paul's cathedral also.  It sits above the pon a hill. The Royal Observatory is the large building and he dome to the left is the telescope. It was the first building built for a scientific purpose. This marks the zero meridian which means all time is measured from here - Greenwich Mean Time. 

 

 

 

Greenwich is a UNESCO historical site as well representing an important part of the World's culture. We saw many cultures represented in the Greenwich market. This fantastic outside market was filled with ethnic foods, baked goods, artists selling their wares and unique shops. 

 

We are here for lunch and free time before heading back to the Tower of London.