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!
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.
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.
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.
