We went to Portsmouth to see the Ships. We went to Salisbury to see the Stones. Now we are headed to Greenwich to see the Clocks. We took the train from Salisbury to London Waterloo Railway Station on the first rainy day of our trip. There are multiple ways to travel from Waterloo, in Central London, to Greenwich, in Southeast London. We are taking the easiest route by catching a ride on the Uber Boat run by Thames Clippers. It is a foot ferry that runs up and down the Thames. The closest ferry stop is right underneath the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel along the river. The very short walk from the train station to the Eye took us right by the IBM London office building. It must be a new location; I remember it being in a slightly different location on my last business trip there, about a kilometer to the east.
The ferry was comfy. And we could grab a beverage and snack on board, and just enjoy the sights on the 45 minute trip over to Greenwich without getting wet on this rainy day.
The Cutty Sark is a beautifully restored clipper ship built in 1869 for the China tea trade; the last of its kind. It sits at Greenwich Pier, where we got off the ferry.
When fully rigged, the ship flew over 30,000 square feet of sail, with over 11 miles of running rigging.
The inside of ship was a tad unremarkable, with empty wide open space, as it was basically made to hold as much cargo as possible; densely stacked chests of tea, and later wool. A typical crew size was 20-25 men.
We toured the National Maritime Museum on the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College. It is the largest maritime museum in the world, and admission is free! Its exhibits pretty comprehensively cover British seafaring over the years, and across the globe.
Greenwich has long been a center of Royal activity. Greenwich Palace is no more, but it was the birthplace of Henry VIII in 1491 and his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, who became queens. It was the Tudor base during his lifetime. Since that time, the Queen’s House was built here in 1619. It is now a museum and art gallery. Admission to the Queen’s House is also free, amazingly.
Probably the most famous painting in the Queen’s House is their Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, but I didn’t take a photo. Here’s a link. It’s beautiful. It commemorates the failed invasion of Britain by the Spanish Armada.
The current grand buildings along the Thames were built in 1694 as a hospital for injured and aging seamen. The buildings’ layout was designed to not block the view from the Queen’s House to the Thames.
The seaman’s hospital closed in 1869, after which the site became the home of the Royal Naval College up until 1997. Now it is a cultural and historic site and foundation called the Old Royal Naval College, and it is the the heart of Maritime Greenwich.
We stayed at the Admiral Hardy, two blocks from the Greenwich pier, next to the Greenwich Market, and a short walk to all things in historic Greenwich.
The Admiral Hardy is a large public house that dates back to the late 1800s. They have 7 very nice rooms upstairs. Hotel guests “check in” at the bar. 🙂 Our room was very nice and large. No elevator, though, FYI. The hotel is adjacent to the Greenwich Market, full of food and retail vendors. The sign on the outside of the market’s current location says 1831. Inside it says “Est. 1737.” Either way, it’s been around a while.
At the end of our first day in Greenwich, we were a little damp and a little tired. On day two in Greenwich, we will see the Clocks!
Links for the curious:
Uber Boat’s Thames Clipper website, for an easy way to get from place to place in London via the Thames. Or you can just stay on and do a loop.
The National Maritime Museum website to plan a visit.
The Royal Museums Greenwich website to plan your visit.
Sheila365 