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GREENWICH - where time begins.
Greenwich and time
are inextricably linked. The prime meridian line - longitude
zero - runs through the town and in 1884 it became the place
from which time - Greenwich Mean Time - was calculated
around the world.
Day
and night, Greenwich is a hub of activity. The 7,000 strong
University campus situated in the Royal Naval college building,
ensures that there is a young and vibrant feel to the area.
There are dozens of restaurants, pubs, a comedy club, a theatre
and two cinemas to name but a few of the reasons that Greenwich
is so popular.
Apart from eating and drinking establishments, Greenwich has
a beautiful Royal Park, the National Maritime Museum, The
Queens House and of course............. The Dome!! Love it
or hate it, it's still here and may become a venue for some
events during the 2012 Olympics. Very close to The Dome is
the David Beckham football academy, this is proving to be
very popular and attracts youngsters from all over the country.
Since
the Dome was built, Greenwich has fared much better in terms
of transport links. The Jubilee line underground station is
right next to The Dome and offers a fast and efficient service
to The Isle of Dogs and on to central London. In the centre
of Greenwich Village are two Docklands Light Railway stations,
one at the Cutty Sark and the other next to the central main
line station in Greenwich High Road. There are also two other
main line stations at Maze Hill & Westcombe Park. Trains
go through to Charing Cross via London Bridge.
Shopping
is a dream, you'll find everything from arts and crafts to
designer originals, a wonderful 'flea' market, a covered craft
market and lots of independent shops selling a variety of
different products. As an added bonus, there are numerous
chain stores on the outskirts of Greenwich, these include:
Asda, Sainsbury, T.K. Maxx, River Island, H & M, Next,
Outfit, Boots, JB Sports, Smiths, Clarks shoes, Petstore,
Staples & Argos.
Whether
you decide to live in the area or just pay us a visit, I'm
sure you won't be disappointed and that you'll enjoy the area
as much as I do!!
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THE
LONDON EYE. The British Airways London Eye is a spectacular examples
of British innovation and creativity. |
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THE
OLD ROYAL OBSERVATORY where John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal
lived, houses the telescopes, astrolabes and sextants that enabled him and his
successors to plot navigational charts and to determine time by observing the
position of the stars and the moon. The prime meridian line of the world is marked
out on the cobbles and it is possible to stand with one foot on either side of
it and be in the eastern and western hemispheres simultaneously. |
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THE
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM tells the story of Britain at sea, as one
director put it, Man's Encounter with the Sea. Paintings, elaborately carved state
barges and vessels from all ages are on show, and the social background of all
who went down to the sea in ships is outlined in the galleries. In the exhibition
devoted to Admiral Lord Nelson, a poignant item is the coat he was wearing when
he was killed in 1805: the hole through which the musket ball passed is clearly
visible.
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THE ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE on the site of the Tudor
palace in which a Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I were born, is a range of
some of the most palatial buildings in the country. Begun for Charles II by architect
John Webb, it was completed by Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor and John Vanbrugh
as the Royal Hospital. It is no longer a working college but the magnificent Painted
Hall, the work of Sir James Thornhill in the 18th century, and the celebrated
Chapel, designed by James 'Athenian' Stuart, are open to the public. |
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THE
QUEEN'S HOUSE a Palladian villa designed by Inigo Jones in 1616, stands
in splendid isolation at the foot of the hill in Greenwich Park. A recent refurbishment
has restored the gleaming white house to the condition it was when Queen Henrietta
Maria lived in it after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. |
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THE
CUTTY SARK in dry dock on the river's edge, is the only tea clipper
to survive. In the last century she plied the seas to China and later the wool
route to Australia. Displays depict life on board during her voyages. Her name
comes from the distinctive shift - or 'cutty sark' - worn by the figurehead, the
bewitching heroine of Robert Burns's poem 'Tam o' Shanter'. |
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ELTHAM PALACE AND THE COURTAULD HOUSE The
palace was a popular royal home from 1311 until 1526. Legend insists that the
Order of the Garter was established by Edward III at a gathering here in 1347.
Erasmus was introduced to Henry VIII here in 1499. Only the great hall, completed
in the reign of Edward IV in 1482, survives. A sliding Chinese- style screen leads
from the great hall into the house built between 1933-37 for Sir Stephen Courtauld.
The house is an outstanding example of the architecture of the period. |
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THE
THAMES BARRIER sometimes referred to as the eighth wonder of the world.
It is an impressive sight and the great gates that restrict the flow of the incoming
tide when there is a danger of London becoming flooded are raised at regular intervals.
A multi-media exhibition in the visitors centre illustrates the construction of
the barrier and shows how it protects London. |
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THE
GIPSY MOTH is the 54ft ketch in which Sir Francis Chichester sailed
around the world between August 1966 and May 1967. The voyage was the first solo
continuous circumnavigation of the world and Chichester was hailed as a hero on
his return and Knighted by the Queen. His boat was preserved as a national monument
and now resides close to the Cutty Sark. |
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ST
ALFEGE CHURCH was designed in 1714 by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of
Sir Christopher Wren. It is on the site of the 12th century church dedicated to
St Alfege, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was slain in 1012 by marauding Danes. |
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GREENWICH
PARK was enclosed by Henry V's brother Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
in 1433, making it the oldest of London's royal parks. The park was stocked with
deer in 1515, and their descendants still roam in the area known as the Wilderness.
Charles II had the park landscaped in a style inspired by the French gardener
Andre le Notre, a scheme that has been retained. The formal gardens are beautifully
planted. Concerts are held by the bandstand in summer and occasional entertainments
take place near the Old Royal Observatory. |
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THE FAN MUSEUM, This completely
independent museum is home to the world's most important &
finest collection of fans. The Museum undertakes conservation
and restoration of fans, educational programmes and will design
and make fans to order for functions, anniversaries, presentations
etc. The Museum shop sells a unique range of high quality items,
all of which are fan related and
most of which are only available from The Fan Museum. Classes
in fan
making are held in the Museum's own workshops where this forgotten
craft has been revived for the first time in Britain for half
a century. |
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THE
RANGER'S HOUSE, built between 1700-10, was inherited by Philip Stanhope,
4th Earl of Chesterfield, in 1748. Here he wrote the famous letters of advice
to his natural son. Subsequent residents have included the Duchess of Brunswick,
George III's sister, and her niece Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester, the
ranger of Greenwich Park from 1815 to 1844. |
Greenwich
Nightlife
In the evening
when the doors to the daytime attractions close Greenwich stays open. There are
pub theatres, jazz programmes in a number of inns, a renowned comedy club, recitals
and performances of classical music in the oldest concert halls in London in Blackheath
village and also in the Royal Naval College chapel. There are cinemas, art galleries,
leisure centres and dance agencies.
The annual Greenwich
and Docklands Festival presents the best in music, theatre, dance, literature
and the visual arts from around the world. The festival starts at the beginning
of July and takes place in a variety of prestigious venues.
More than 60 restaurants,
pubs and wine bars within a quarter-mile radius of the town centre offer a variety
of fare that embraces traditional English as well as Mexican, Italian and Thai.
Some are centuries-old coaching inns; others have moved into the fast food era.
Further afield in Blackheath, Woolwich and Eltham even more places to eat are
to be discovered.
The great weekend
draw in Greenwich is the covered market. On Saturdays and Sundays it buzzes with
activity, and with the surrounding specialist shops it is one of the most popular
of London's markets.
Time
and tide do not stand still in Greenwich, where time begins.
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