I have looked at the map on page 148 in Rick's 2008 England guide book, and I have four questions:
How long does it takes to walk from the Greenwich Pier to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich? We will have done the London to Greenwich cruise.
Are there any sites that we should watch for while on the cruise?
I notice there are several photo opportunities? Does anyone want to comment on them?
Is there anything else in Greenwich that we should not miss?
You can easily spend an entire day checking out the sites in Greenwich. In fact, the National Maritime Museum is probably the most popular attraction. You will also want to check out the Old Royal Naval College, and the Queen's House before making the trek up the hill to the Observatory. Rick's London guidebook has an entire chapter dedicated to Greenwich.
The June/July issue of "In Britain" has an article "48 hours in Greenwich." It talks about all the main attractions, plus some little known ones.
Tom
You can also take the boat to The Barrier and get off in Greenwich on the way back...this does not take a long time. Your tour guide will point out all the "important" sites during your cruise encluding The Grapes, said to be the oldest or one of the oldest pubs in London. At Greenwich Pier you will also see a small round building with a domed roof..This is the enterance to a tunnel which allows you to walk under the Thames to the other side. It's just another something to do in Greenwich and you can get wider shots with your camera from there as well.
The walk from the pier to the top of the hill at the observatory took 15 minutes. Downhill it was ten minutes.
Get your picture taken straddling the Prime Meridian. Seems all the other tourists do.
My best pictures of Tower Bridge are from the boat cruising down the middle of the Thames.
Fellow posters, at what time does it get dark in early August in the Greenwich area?
Derek, thanks for passing along the suggestion of the Tower Bridge photo opportunity. Plus, we will plan on one of us stradling the Prime Meridian. I am an avid photographer. Keep traveling.
Charlene....sunset is relatively late in the summer, because England is so far north. At Greenwich, the sun is due to set shortly after 8:30 pm in early August.
It might be more like 9:30. During the summer, GMT is not the local time in Greenwich, because England observes daylight savings time, while GMT does not change for daylight savings time.
Go figure...
Again...shortly after 8:30 pm in early August....local summer timel, not GMT.
the national maritime museum is definetly worth a visit. some of the exhibits are better than others, but i especially enjoyed the ones on artic exploration, and travel, trade, colonization and exploration of the americas through travel across the atlantic.
i would say its a good 10-15 minute walk up to the observatory if you are walking at a brisk pace.
Check out the small but delightful Fan Museum in Greenwich........lunching there or afternoon tea is a delight too!
I don't know how long it takes to walk, but I didn't notice that it was long. I would guess 5 minutes.
I would look for photo sites all the way. I took pix from both sides of the boat. You see London Bridge easily.
Ask when you get off the boat what to see. There is a wonderful museum there if you are interested in naval stuff.
There's a shuttle between the maritime museum and the observatory... another good option.
