Britain 09 - Day 38

Introduction

Greenwich and the Thames Barrier was the objective for this day. I had been to Greenwich before, but not to the Barrier, so I knew that the ferry trip down the Thames was a good was to see a lot of the city. Therer was some confusion around which ferry boats went where and when but we purchased return tickets and were shepherded onto a boat. It did take us to Greenwich but without the usual commentary. We grabbed a coffee at Greenwich (actually the only good one we had in London) and then boarded the next ferry (the one we should have been on) to take us to the Barrier. Then it was back to Greenwich to walk up to the Old Observatory and see Harrison's Clocks, and to watch the timeball drop at 1300. It was not until we had returned to the hotel that we realised that sitting on the ferry for the afternoon had given us a problem - we were sunburnt!! Yes, sunburnt in London in late October must be evidence of global warming.....

Westminster to the Thames Barrier

We boarded the Thames ferry at Westminster Pier and headed downstream past the tall buildings of central London, the banking sector at canary Wharf and then all the fashionalbe apartments. From Greenwich we rounded the bend past the Millenium Dome, (now the O2 Arena) and eventually reached the Thames Flood Barrier.

"The banking sector near Canary Wharf"	Apartments on the Thames below Greenwich	More apartments
Warning sign about flooding and the Barrier	The Millenium Dome or the O2 Arena if you prefer	Looking back up the Thames past the Dome
Downstream to the Thames Barrier	Some of the Barrier gate housing	The Barrier and maintenance barge
Closer view of the barrier showing the rotating mechanism that lifts the gates offthe floor of the Thames	More of the gate houses	Gates in a line
One of the gates rotated into closed position	Gate house showing tidal rage	Depth gauge showing 9m to the sill
Looking downstream through the Barrier	Heading back to Greenwich	Apartments all in a row

Greenwich and the Royal Observatory

At Greenwich we walked through the large park and up to the Royal Observatory on the top of the hill. We timed our arrival, nicely, getting there a few minutes before the timeball made its climb up the pole ready to drop at exactly 1300. After that momentous event, overlooked by most of the people present, we walked through the museum of Time, finishing with Harrison's clocks - three extraordinary objects that still fascinate me. Then it was back down to the ferry wharf and the trip back up the Thames.

Walk through the trees towards the Royal Observatory	A squirrel danced on the chairs to entertain us	The timeball making the final climb to the top for its drop at 1300
The 24 hour clock denoting UMT (was once Greenwich Mean Time GMT)	The old Royal Observatory	Looking down on the Maritime Museum and the Thames

A look at the Tower

We travelled back up the Thames and alighted at Tower Wharf to look over Tower Bridge and the outside of The Tower. Coffee and cake was provided by Paul (of course), watched by the very clever starlings who extracted food from even the most callous souls. The ferry took us back to Westminster so we could walk back to the Strand Palace. That night we walked up Bow Street past the theatres and pubs and dined at Pasta Brown - one of the better meals we had in London.

Drinks and food courtesy of Paul	Starlings lined up for their song and dance routine - as long as you feed them	"Feed Me...!!!"
A trebuchet and other devices	Heading back to the ferry	Pleased they have escaped the Tower

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Last updated: 16/06/2017