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Saturday 7th February 2004

A visit to the Greenwich area

"On Saturday Amanda came over and me and her and Karen went to Greenwich
Greenwich is a really lovely place
and even though it is only an hour away on the trains we could have been a million miles away
It is green and old and on the river"

(simply click on the thumbnail image to see the photo)

Old Royal Naval College

"The Naval Colleges and museums are all old and they are also free!"

The Painted Hall
This is one of the finest banqueting rooms in Europe.
The famous painted ceilings and walls took artist Sir James Thornhill nineteen years to complete,
for which he was paid a miserly 6685 pounds-2 shillings-and 4 pence.
(equivalent to 3 pounds a square yard for the ceilings and 1 pound for the walls)
In these splendid surroundings, in January 1806,
the body of Nelson lay in state after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar
and where it was visited by thousands who came to pay their last respects
to one of England's finest seamen.

The Painted Hall--- Ceilings in The Painted Hall (two photos)

The Chapel
Originally designed by Sir Christopher Wren
for a congregation of sailors now secure from the perils of the sea,
this neoclassical masterpiece was rebuilt and redecorated
by James Stuart and William Newton following a fire in 1779.
The Chapel houses a 1787 Samuel Green organ and has a thriving choir.
Its superb acoustics make it a regular venue for public concerts and recitals
which are open to all visitors.
Public services of worship are held every Sunday at 11.00am.

The Chapel (two photos)--- Ceilings in The Chapel

The Royal Observatory

"We then walked up a great big hill to the Royal Observatory
and the place where they measure time from"

"We then walked up a great big hill to the Royal Observatory" (two photos)

Entrance to the Observatory (two photos)--- Clock showing GMT (two photos)

View from The Royal Observatory looking towards Queens House (two photos)

Similar to the above - with Canary Wharf in the background (two photos)

(postcard)------------ (postcard)

The Meridian Line
The Zero Line of Longitude (Prime Meridian of the World)

"There is a line at zero longitude and it divides the world into Western and Eastern Hemispheres
Everyone has their photo taken with one leg on either side - so we did to
It was a lovely place with lots of old clocks and that sort of thing
We also set our watches to the exact time so I know if anyone is late!"

What is the Meridian Line?
The Meridian Line is an imaginary line which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.
By international convention it runs through "the primary transit" instrument (main telescope)
at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
It is known at Zero Longitude and it is the line from which all other lines of longitude are measured.
This includes the line that runs 180° away from Greenwich also known as the International Date Line.
There have been many meridian lines during the course of history including nine lines at Greenwich!

The Meridian Line across the World - and across the Observatory courtyard!!!

A close-up of the Line as it appears at the Observatory
(a 224Kb picture, and this was necessary to enable to details to be easily read)

Tanya - one foot in the East and one foot in the West

Where she was at 14:07:3017 on Saturday 7th February 2004!!!

Greenwich Foot Tunnel
between Greenwich Pier, SE10 and Isle of Dogs, E14, London

"We had lunch in a nice noodle bar
and walked in a tunnel that goes from one side of the Thames to another
It was built over 100 years ago and we walked it
You go down a long spiral staircase and then walk the tunnel
It is a bit eerie but as far as I could see there were no leaks!"

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is the only Thames tunnel to be built solely for pedestrians.
The 1,200 foot tunnel was opened in 1902 to allow labourers from south London to walk to work in Millwall Docks.
On either side of the river are matching round red-brick terminals, topped by glass domes,
marking the top of the lift shafts.
The tunnel is about 9 feet tall and is lined with 200,000 tiles.
The northern end of the tunnel on the Isle of Dogs is close to Island Gardens station on the Dockland Light Railway,
and from here descend by lift, or stairs, and walk under the Thames to Greenwich.
Each shaft is topped by elegant pagodas which house the lift machinery and the spiral staircases.
It is a fascinating experience to walk through the tunnels - try it!
The journey is an eerie and somewhat claustrophobic experience - the Thames is flowing above your head!
However, arriving in Greenwich with its architecture, nautical history, views, and the Cutty Sark,
makes it an interesting and unusual experience.
Furthermore they are free to use!!!

The pagoda on the Greenwich side of the Tunnel--- Inside the Tunnel (two photos)

Karen Amanda Tanya - a walk under the River Thames!!!

"The Cutty Sark"

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