Out and about 2016

GREENWICH VILLAGE (LONDON) THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2018

It was a bitterly cold morning when Eddie and myself met up in Leeds City Station for the 08:17 train from Leeds to London via Wakefield Westgate where we were to meet up with the final adventurer Derek. The weather had decimated our travel plans with John and Keith unable to get into Leeds and Dave struck down by a back injury.

The train Journey was to last a little bit longer than the scheduled 10:35 our arrival going out to 11:10 but the journey was pleasant and comfortable with lovely snow scenery on either side. A quick visit to the rest room we were on our way. First, we took the Northern Line (South) to Bank where we changed onto the DLR (Dockland Light Railway) and headed towards Lewisham for our final destination at Island Gardens. Unfortunately, the train only went as far as Mudchute so we had to change for Island Gardens. We only had to crossover to platform one for the remainder of our journey which was only one stop away.

We left Island Gardens station crossing over the road outside and walked up the ginnel to the River Thames where we could see The Cutty Sark at the other side of the river but Derek was missing? Just then he arrived after a breathing attack but he was alright as we descended into the tunnel to walk directly under The Thames ascending at the other side directly adjacent to the Magnificent Clipper itself.

Sorting out our 2 for 1 vouchers we entered the Cutty Sark for the princely sum of £8.75 each and toured all the decks of this wondrous ship used mainly for transporting tea from all around the world. Its masts were sky high and the life of a sailor cannot have been an easy one. It has recovered well from its fires in 2007 and 2014 but it has been restored to its former glory and was well worth a visit.

After leaving the Cutty Sark we ventured to Greenwich Market which unfortunately was closed due to the severe temperatures and after a brief chat with a local we were pointed towards the Pie & Mash Café where we enjoyed Pie and Mash followed by a lovely Rhubarb Crumble with loads of red hot custard.

On leaving the Café we made our way up to Greenwich Park where the sledges were out in force with hundreds of people sledging down the slopes of the park in all directions. The path up to the Observatory was particularly steep so we took a shallower route and there were a number of workers setting up for a running event at the weekend. Eddie politely asked one of the workers who was passing if he could ferry Derek up to the Observatory where we eventually caught up with him.

The observatory was full of interesting things particularly the Harrison Clocks which were developed to aid mariners navigate the seas with longitudinal and latitude advances so they could position themselves accurately in avoiding dangerous areas and assist in taking accurate, efficient and safe routes. The Royal Observatory is Britain’s oldest scientific institution. It was founded in Greenwich by King Charles II in 1675 for the specific and practical purpose of ‘rectifying the Tables of the Motions of the Heavens, and the places of the fixed Stars, so as to find out the so much desired Longitude of Places for perfecting the art of Navigation’. Back in 1675, although a sailor was able to measure his latitude – how far north or south he was – once out of sight of land, he had no means of measuring his longitude or how far east or west he was. As trade routes opened up, it became increasingly urgent to find a solution to the so-called longitude problem. The Royal Astronomers’ realised that repeated measurements of the positions of the Sun, Moon stars and planets over long time periods was a prerequisite for understanding and predicting their motions.

Mindful of the cold weather and our train journey north we made our way back to King’s Cross reversing our journey on the DLR from Greenwich. On arriving back at Kings Cross at about 17:05 we looked at the departure boards which indicated many cancelled trains so we picked the 17:33 as our choice and climbed aboard. There were no reserved seats but we now had to find one but as we got to the last two carriages we were lucky to find a table seat and before we set off the train had filled up everywhere. We arrived back at Wakefield just before 20:00 and said goodbye to Derek Arriving into Leeds at 20:20 where I went for my bus and Eddie went for his train back to Woodlesford at 20:37 so another great day and although the weather was against us the three Musketeers still seized the day.