London 4 - Greenwich

Max 23, Min 13

Today we cruised the Thames from Westminster to Greenwich which was an interesting way to view London. The tide was going out on the way there and a surprisingly strong current. A pretty town and very busy with tourists and university students everywhere.

We visited Cutty Sark which has an interesting history as a transporter of goods including tea from India and wool from Australia. I fancied the Captain’s quarters and saloon as the place to stay. The sailor’s bunkbeds were tiny and the mattresses looked like a health risk.

Next was the Naval Museum. Neither of us are particularly interested in things maritime but we did hear that Lord Horatio Nelson’s clothing that he was wearing when he died was on display. After an short and well directed search and we have the photo’s – the bloody socks, the trousers cut away to search for injuries (it’s unclear whether there were any injuries in the groin area necessitating this scissor job) and a jacket which has the hole from the fatal shot in the top right side.

Satisfied we had completed our ghoulish mission we climbed the hill to the observatory, stood on the meridian line and saw the old telescope. Pete was mildly interested, me not so much. I did enjoy architectural features of Flamsteed House with it’s large rambling rooms and climb to a huge observatory with great views of London.

We visited the Queens House which was like a small townhouse

compared with Hampton Court. A well proportioned building which sits nicely in the grounds and overlooking Greenwich Park.

We caught the clipper back to Blackfriars Pier and walked back to one of our locals in Farringdon for a couple of bevvies. There are a fair number of locals to get around and so little time.