27 September 2014.

We head off to Paddington Station to get the tube to Westminster. Paddington serves 2 tube lines, plus some rail so it’s a bit confusing We know we want the Circle Line, but where is it? We ask a Bobby how to get to Westminster, which turns out to be brilliant as he tells us the line is closed for maintenance over the weekend. We need to take the Bakerloo line to Charring Cross and take a short walk to the Embankment. 

Charring Cross puts you out at Trafalgar and from there, I know where we are going. J  We set of down Whitehall, past 10 Downing and the Horse Guards, take few pics of Big Ben and the houses of Parliament, and head for Westminster Pier. It’s a nice day to take a ride on the Thames. Low tide so the guide is talking about the effects of the boat wash on the mud and sediment on the river bed. We cruise past new buildings and old. The tower, tower bridge, the globe theater, the “shard”, new apartments, etc, until we get to Greenwich.

Tower of London

London Eye

St. Paul's Cathedral

The Globe theater

We decide to buy the “big ticket” as we want to see Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory, and the Longitude exhibit at the Maritime Museum. One of the few advantages of being over 60 is that there is almost always a senior “concession” on entry fees.

The Cutty Sark was launched in 1869 for the tea trade. She made several voyages to the east before the sailing ships were put out of business by the faster steamships on that run. She them began trips to Australia to pick up bales of wool. She was a fast ship. As part of the renovation, they have lifted her out of the water so you can see the metal sheathing – the café is below the waterline. They have floored the hold with replicas of boxes of tea, along with the ceiling. Given the number of masts and yards, it’s hard to believe she was crewed by 26 men – 19 when they converted her to the wool trade. I've been impressed with the number of interactive displays for children at many of the places we have visited.

Cutty Sark keel - sheathed in metal

Mid-deck

Cafe under the ship

Off to the Royal Observatory – up a steep hill. Nice views, but a hike. You get to read the story of the positioning of the Prime Meridian at Greenwich (in spite of the French). There is a nice display about the history of timekeeping – local, national, international. Moving from sundials to the atomic clock. Use it, share it, measure it. The six beeps provided by the BBC. They have many of the original instruments that the various Royal Astronomers (including Edmund Halley) used to make their observations.  

Telescope in the Octagon Room.

Royal Observatory

Prime Meridian

There is a special exhibit on Longitude at the Maritime Museum. Very well presented. It starts with the statement of the problem – including a copy of the Longitude Act of 1714 and letters from Isaac Newton commenting on the various proposed solutions. If you have read Longitude, this is the chance to see actual documents and the clocks and chronographs. Some of the timepieces are replicas, but they have the actual H4 on display. I assumed no photos - Michael got a few before he was caught. Maybe he'll post a couple. (They were banned in only one room.)

The Maritime Museum has some other permanent exhibits, but we need time to get back up river. So we walk back down the hill and queue for the boat. The tide is now high and we are clearing the bridges by 2-3 ft. – or so it appears. The river has a very different appearance at high tide.

Hike back up to Charring Cross and hop on the tube back to Paddington. We saw a Greek restaurant last night that looked good and turns out to be very nice.

Lunch tomorrow with Michael’s second cousin, whom we have not met before. Should be fun.