Leaving Greenwich by boat - April 27, 2012

Friday

'Proper hamburgers' read the lettering on the window of a restaurant near Greenwich Pier. Sounded good to me. Well, it may have been proper but it was just ok, nothing special.

If I'd known how easy it is to catch a ferry boat on the Thames, I might not have bothered with the train. From Greenwich the fare was £6, if I remember correctly. Here too, the Oyster Card can be used.

Maybe this was the bridge I'd walked over the other day.

Poor light and dirty windows make for less-than-exciting pictures. But what a trip this must be on a nice summer day.

The boat docked near the London Eye, on the other side of the river.

Ha, the guy is dressed up with 'blood' on his face and a noose around his neck and everyone walks by as if it's business as usual.

Not surprisingly, lots of tourists are in this area.

I had an enjoyable walk across the bridge while the bells rung six times. The chiming brought back memories of Diana's funeral. But on this day there was an energetic, festive feeling - even the bridge was crowded with people.

The Houses of Parliament are such a grand sight in person.

Alas, it's getting on, the light is fading and I've a long way to go to get back to the hotel.

A sundial

Friday

I love sundials. This one is at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

Prime Meridian, Greenwich

Friday

The Greenwich Meridian Line represents the Prime Meridian of the World – Longitude 0º.

The sculpture at the Meridian Line is quite fitting, I think. A ring on an angled axis - which would have been clearer in a side view - could represent the equator. The steel bands seemingly symbolize lines of longitude, with the space between them aligned on the meridian. That's my interpretation anyway. The axis may point to something in the sky, but I can't find information on that.

This place fascinated me when I learned about it in school, back when we referred to Greenwich Mean Time. So I wouldn't go all the way to Greenwich and not stand on the Meridian Line. People line up to have their pictures taken with one foot in the west and the other in east. Entrance fee for Flamsteed House and the Meridian Courtyard is about £7.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich - April 27, 2012

Friday

The Observatory was something I would pay to see.
How to find it? Just follow the crowd up the hill. 

Flamsteed House - the original Observatory building at Greenwich,
designed by (St. Paul's Cathedral architect) Sir Christopher Wren in 1675.

From their website: The bright red Time Ball on top of Flamsteed House is one of the world's earliest public time signals, distributing time to ships on the Thames and many Londoners. It was first used in 1833 and still operates today. Each day, at 12.55, the time ball rises half way up its mast. At 12.58 it rises all the way to the top. At 13.00 exactly, the ball falls, and so provides a signal to anyone who happens to be looking. Of course, if you were looking the wrong way, you had to wait until the next day before it happened again.
Only the richest people could afford to buy clocks and watches of their own. Most people relied on public sundials to tell the time. This led to different local times across the country, with clocks on the eastern side of the country about 30 minutes ahead of those in the west. The difficulties created by everyone using their own local time eventually led to the creation of Standard Time based on the Prime Meridian at Greenwich.

Looking back down the hill. 

91 days until the Olympics, back then. 

Herringbone - I like it anywhere. 

Astronomical quadrant inside the Octagon Room.

Marine timekeeper by John Harrison, c. 1735.

40-foot Herschelian (reflector) telescope tube.

Gardens on the grounds.

Walking back down the hill.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich - April 27, 2012

Friday

Prince Frederick's barge, built in 1731. 

Greenwich - April 27, 2012

Friday

The Jubilee Greenway runs along the Thames from the
Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich to the Tower Bridge.

Scale model of Nelson's ship in a huge bottle.

Cutty Sark in Greenwich - April 27, 2012

Friday

The skies brightened and so did my mood once I was in Greenwich. Travelling by train through that slummy area felt a little like going through hell to get to heaven. Greenwich had a good feeling to it.

I was glad to see the Cutty Sark there; not so glad to see it out of the water as part of a museum. It shouldn't make any difference - lots of boats and airplanes are in museums. In this case, the structure seems to be built around the ship. I didn't feel compelled to pay £12 to go inside.

I probably stepped inside the door to take this shot.