London, England: River Bus to Greenwich for an Afternoon

London, England: River Bus to Greenwich for an Afternoon

 

During one of my free afternoons, I decided to take a trip to Greenwich. I hopped on the river bus at the Tower Pier, along the riverside of the Tower of London, and took it east to Greenwich (Greenwich Pier).

The river bus, which travels up and down the Thames river, is a nice way to get from one part of the city to another. You can use your oyster card to pay the fare or stop by the ticket booth just before entering the queue to the dock. The river bus seems to run every 15 minutes, so the wait time is not too bad.

 While waiting for the next bus, I noticed a second dock for a speed boat excursion, with two of the company boats tethered nearby. One was called the Exhilaration and the other the Excitement. I guess for speed boats, the names are appropriate, but I couldn’t help laughing inwardly, and eventually spilling over into muffled laughter. Based on the choice of names, it sounds like one of the speeder’s sole purpose is to throw you from the boat, and the other swings by to pick you out of the water. So, one is so exhilarating it ejects you, and the other rescues you, to your relieved excitement. Alas, I never saw anyone boarding the speed boats while I waited for my less daring form of transport.

Once onboard the river bus, I noticed that it was a great deal more comfortable than a traditional bus. There were cushioned seats, a snack bar, public restrooms, and tvs at the front of the passenger section running through advertisements. The vibe was even different from what I’m used to feeling while riding a city bus. There was a group of elementary aged school kids in orange safety vests on a field trip to one side of the river bus, and a couple of business professionals enjoying what seemed to be their lunch break, cruising along. I was so comfy I almost forgot to get off at my stop.

Coming up from the Greenwich pier, I walked up the dock and to the left of the river bus stop, where I came to the University of Greenwich and Old Royal Naval College. If you saw Thor: The Dark World, you may recognize the landscape!

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The buildings on either side of the open space create quite a wind tunnel, so if you go during a windy day, you may experience a bad hair day. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that as I passed the music hall of the university, I could hear someone practicing an opera aria. That definitely helped set the mood as I walked back in time and explored the grounds.

The Greenwich Palace, once a royal residence, stood where the University of Greenwich currently sits. The palace fell into disrepair and was eventually converted into a hospital for naval servicemen in the late 1600s. Later, the hospital was transformed into the Royal Naval College, and then into the University of Greenwich.

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Another attraction of Greenwich is the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) line, the place where time starts and stops! A physical marker for the GMT line can be found at the Royal Observatory, just up the hill from the University of Greenwich. There is even a plaque denoting the location of the GMT line, where you can straddle the line between the two hemispheres, East and West.

Greenwich is also the home of the Cutty Sark, an 18th century tea clipper, noted for being the fastest clipper during the time of its use. The ship’s hull is supported by scaffolding, so you can get an up close view of the hull, to admire the 18th century craftsmanship. The unusual name “cutty sark” is said to have come from a Robert Burns poem, Tam o’ Shanter. The subject of the poem is chased by three witches, with the fastest of the three wearing a cutty sark. Loosely translated, cutty sark is an 18th century Scots term for “short shirt.” In addition to providing the name for the clipper, the fastest of the three witches also decorates the bow of the Cutty Sark. In her hand, she holds the horse hair she captured from the hero’s fleeing horse. The ship later achieved a darker reputation; during a voyage to Asia, the crew mutinied and the captain walked off the edge of the ship.

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The weekend I was in London, there was a gathering and exhibit of sailing vessels. The river was dotted with 18th century masts and sails. I imagine that is how the Thames would have looked once upon a time. Though, perhaps, with more cargo being transported and fewer sailing enthusiasts on vacation.

London, England: St Paul’s to the Tower to the Eye

London, England: St Paul’s to the Tower to the Eye

 

The City of London has a lot of great attractions to explore. I opted to spend my day visiting three of the top attractions in the city: St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and the London Eye.

First stop, St Paul’s cathedral, and quite fortuitous as it was a gray, drizzly Friday morning. The majority of my time there would be spent inside, excluding the stroll around the exterior gardens. You will need a ticket to enter, if you are not attending service, and can be purchased online or at the door. The ticket gives you access to the main Cathedral floor, the crypt below, and the galleries around the dome of the Cathedral.

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The cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, replacing the church that was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wren is also buried in the crypt, with an inscription on his tomb reading “Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.”

Nine meters tall, the main doors lead you in to a grand view of the Cathedral interior. The main floor includes a number of statues and memorials, a grand pipe organ constructed in the late 1600s, marble arches, and varied ornate fixtures and chapels.

As you walk towards the High Altar, you will pass the statue of the Duke of Wellington, sculpted on horseback. According to my guide, the statue of Wellington was initially set to be placed with Wellington and horse facing the main doors. However, the Bishop at the time vetoed the idea, as he did not want to hold mass to the backside of a horse. Fair point! So, Wellington and horse were installed facing the High Altar.

Continuing beyond the High Altar, along the rear of the Cathedral, is a memorial to the US servicemen stationed in the UK during WWII. The memorial is decorated with flora and fauna native to North America. To the left and right of the WWII memorial are additional art pieces, including the Mother and Child sculpture and the Martyrs video installation. I found the Martyrs exhibit especially interesting. It is a video installation by Bill Viola, depicting the four natural elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Broken out into individual panels, each natural element starts small and slowly builds in intensity upon the human subject. In one panel, the wind starts as an intermittent breeze, moving the person gently about the screen, and eventually becomes a hurricane force gale. The other three panels depict a similar build up. Definitely catches the eye!

Descending into the crypt, you will find the tombs of Lord Nelson and Wellington, as well as other notable figures remembered. A majority of the floor is a collection of memorial markers, some too faded to read. While I was there, a section was dedicated to the 350th anniversary and history of the Great Fire of London.

Nearest tube station: St Paul’s

By the time I arrived at the Tower of London, it had, thankfully, stopped raining. Once a palace, fortress, and zoo, the Tower of London has been standing on the banks of the Thames river since 1066.

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The Yeoman Warders, dressed in scarlet and black uniforms, are the guards of the Tower of London. I was intrigued to learn that the Warders also live at the Tower with their families. Considering how old the Tower is, I would be concerned with living inside a haunted fortress… Additionally, the Yeoman Warders do guided tours of the Tower, recounting stories of the famous inhabitants, royal and prisoner alike. The Yeoman Warders are also known as “Beefeaters”; the nickname is believed to have stemmed from the Royal guard being given beef from the King’s table.

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Aside from the Yeoman Warders, the Tower is also home to some rather large ravens. I have never been that close to a raven before, so I was REALLY surprised with how big they are. Legend has it that if the ravens were to leave the Tower, Britain would fall. So, to guard against this, a group of ravens are always kept at the Tower. Which explains why the first set of ravens I saw were in a large cage. But, I also saw a few, untethered, just hanging out around the Tower.

The Tower of London is also where the crown jewels of Britain are stored. You can even catch a Changing of the Guards ceremony outside the jewel house with the Yeoman Warders. Once inside, the rooms preceding the crown jewels trace through the history and use of the jewels, going as far back as William the Conqueror in 1066. With the exception of the Coronation Spoon (12th century), the jewels on display only go back to the 1600s. As you walk into the jewel room, you may (or may not) notice that you are walking into a vault. You are not permitted to take pictures, which definitely helps with the flow of traffic around the displays. And there are moving walkways on both sides of the main crown and scepter display, so no one can hog the view. You can go back to the entrance of the moving walkway if you want to view the jewels again. I went through three times!

Off to the left of the building housing the Crown Jewels is the Tower Green. The Green was the execution site within the Tower, and a glass pillow has been placed at the site as a memorial to those executed.

Traitor’s Gate, the infamous river entrance to the Tower of London, was the entrance for prisoners transported by boat. Due to the rising of the tide, the gate is mostly obscured until low tide. While you can see the gate from inside the Tower, there is a better view of it from the riverside.

The White Tower holds the Royal Armory, which houses a collection of swords, lances, and armor worn by British royalty and their horses. A couple of display cases show the evolution of armor over the centuries. On the upper level, is a dragon made out of a variety of shields, swords, and muskets. The dragon creation is based on the practice of collecting discarded battle items and making military trophies. Complete with a little modern flare, this dragon also has glowing red eyes.

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Nearest tube station: Tower Hill

An hour before sunset, I reach my final stop for the day, the London Eye. The sun managed to break through the clouds and I was able to see the sun set over London from the Eye!

The Eye consists of 32 glass observation pods that slowly revolve along the wheel. I would say the trip takes about 35 minutes to make a complete revolution. You will have wonderful views of Parliament, the Shard, and more.

Each pod holds about 20-25 people, so if you are imagining a pod all to yourself while belting out “I’m on top of the world” at the top of your lungs… well… you can. But you won’t be alone. And your fellow passengers probably won’t appreciate it.

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Nearest tube station: Waterloo