A visit to the Royal Observatory Museum at Greenwich.
Today we visited Greenwich, and the Royal Observatory Museum that sits atop the hill in Greenwich Park. It has an expansive view across the park, past the Old Royal Naval College and the River Thames, to the skyscrapers in the Canary Wharf financial district of London. This observatory is where the question of longitude was studied – and in particular, a decades-long challenge to find a reliable means for mariners to estimate their longitude while at sea. As a result, it was later selected as the zero point – the reference point for 0º0’0″ longitude, aka the Prime Meridian. Given the importance of measuring time for measuring longitude, Greenwich was also designated as the basis for universal time – hence Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), now known as Universal Time (UTC). We and the other tourists had fun standing on the meridian, one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere.
I glanced at my watch as I strode out of the Tube station and through the drizzle into the emerging daylight. The time was one minute before sunrise – but would the clouds cooperate? I was heading once again for Primrose Hill, a popular site for viewing the sun rise over London’s cityscape, which I’d first visited on the winter solstice. This was my fifth visit in four weeks, and I was determined to capture a particular scene, a particular moment, that I’d forecasted one month ago. To get the shot, the sun would need to actually show up, and in rainy London that’s never certain. At home in the pre-dawn darkness, it was raining hard and the forecast was gloomy. I need to make a go/no-go decision 45 minutes before sunrise to reach to Primrose Hill on time. It’s always a gamble. Today I gambled and won.
Although many Americans think this iconic bridge is called London Bridge, it’s actually called Tower Bridge – and is just upstream from its famous and historic neighbor, the architecturally bland London Bridge. Tower Bridge opened to the public in 1894; as a bascule bridge its central span lifts open to allow tall ships to pass, while its twin upper walkways allow sightseers like us to enjoy expansive views of the river and the city. Today we took the opportunity to visit. On this rainy winter weekday, there were few other visitors so we almost had the place to ourselves as we climbed the tower, walked across the high pedestrian bridges, and then down into the depths to view the historic coal-powered engine rooms.
An organ recital in a 13th-century architectural icon.
It is hard not to be moved when the first notes of the organ echo throughout an iconic 13th-century cathedral, especially one with such a storied history like Westminster Abbey. You feel the deeper notes resonate throughout your body as the music fills the hall with an even greater sense of grandeur.
After an organ recital at Westminster Abbey, London.
We were sitting near the front row, along with perhaps one hundred other lovers of music, history, and travel, and treated to a 40-minute organ recital by one of the Abbey’s senior organists. These weekly recitals are free and open to the public, as are weekly choral recitals and daily Evensong.
A side passage at Westminster Abbey, London.
“Although Westminster Abbey was founded in 960AD, the building we see today dates from the reign of Henry III in the 13th century.” You can read lots more about the history of Westminster Abbey, which has been used for 16 royal weddings and every royal coronation since 1066.
Westminster Abbey, London.
Just across the street from the Abbey is Westminster Palace; we crossed the Thames on Westminster Bridge for a good view of Westminster Palace (Parliament building) and Elizabeth Tower (with the bell named Big Ben). Westminster Abbey peeks out from behind the palace, just to the right of the construction cranes.
Westminster – Parliament building, Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), and the River Thames. London.
When offered a chance to tour Buckingham Palace, how can one say no? After all, we live within walking distance, and I often walk past the palace on my way for a stroll in Green Park or St. James Park. Out front, the grand gates attract throngs of selfie-taking tourists, gawking at the grandeur of the palace and snapping photos of the iconic guardsmen. Today, we stood with a small group of others who waited by the front gate for our designated entry time.
Waiting to enter the north gate of Buckingham Palace.
To be clear, it’s not like we were heading for an appointment with His Majesty King Charles, or others in the royal family. We’d bought tickets for a tour of the East Wing, along with a dozen other locals and tourists. Our wait, on a chilly gray winter’s day, gave us an opportunity to study the decorative gates and the heavily armed police just behind them.
After entering this gate, we walked to the right-side door where you can see a person is waiting, and entered Buckingham Palace.
Unfortunately, photography was not permitted once we passed through the gates, through airport-style security screening, and throughout the tour. Our tour guide walked us through three or four elaborate rooms and along a grand corridor spanning the front of the palace. (The East Wing has over 200 rooms; we saw four.) She explained that this wing had never before been open to the public, having been designed and used primarily as a residence for the royal children. Now, its rooms are used for meetings, and receptions. (They are separate from the State Rooms, which are only open for public tours in the summer.)
A photo of the Central Room in East Wing, from an email sent with our tickets.
Many walls decked with massive paintings of the sort one might expect in the National Gallery, or National Portrait Gallery – depicting famous figures or heroic scenes, like Queen Victoria or the Battle of Trafalgar. Our tour guide, who noted her two art-history degrees, delighted in telling us the backstory on many works of art, including murals, painted ceilings, and exquisite porcelain from China. Indeed, many of the rooms were thoroughly decorated in chinoiserie style, which apparently had been quite fashionable. (Indeed, that Wikipedia link includes an (outdated) photo of the Yellow Drawing Room we visited today; the caption says it is “rife with chinoiserie designs. King George IV was a keen patron of chinoiserie, and had many other rooms created in this style such as the Centre Room, also located in the East Wing.”) Much of it reminded me of the palace we visited in Brighton; no coincidence, because when Queen Victoria sold that palace she relocated most of its decorations to Buckingham.
Many more photos are available on the royal family’s webpage. We visited parts of the East Wing that has just been reserviced (renovated and restored), as described in this short YouTube video from seven years ago when the work began. Other wings of the Palace are currently under similar restoration.
In the final room, we were standing right behind the front, central balcony that looks out on the forecourt, past the grand Victoria Memorial, and down the mall central to St. James Park. The guides excitedly described how, just two years ago, King Charles arrived at Buckingham Palace after his coronation, walked through the same corridors, and waved to the crowds from this very balcony.
During our tour of Buckingham Palace, we looked out the windows behind the front/central balcony.
I glanced out the window at just the right moment – to see snowflakes swirling madly through the air. A snow squall was passing through our neighborhood in London – the first snow I’d seen in England – so I pulled on my coat and scurried outside. The snow had ended as quickly as it began, leaving only a dusting on the pavements and nearby garden squares.
An extended walk in Chantry Woods with about twenty other Dartmouth alums.
I had my third opportunity to hike, today, in an outing jointly organized by the Dartmouth Club of the United Kingdom and the Tuck alumni club of the United Kingdom, to the Chantry Wood area around Guildford in Surrey. About 20 Dartmouth alums and three dogs came along. The day started cloudy, shifted to hazy, and ended with blue skies, leaving all in a wonderful mood as we settled in for a late Sunday lunch at the Seahorse Pub. As the photo gallery shows, the trees were beginning to show their autumn colors, and the route exposed us to a wide variety of meadows, forests, fallow farm fields, and country lanes. A beautiful day! [Slideshow]
A quick daytrip to Brighton, to visit its Royal Pavilion and the famous Brighton Pier.
When I ask locals for tips about where we might explore, first, outside of London. Brighton beach is often on the list. Its historic pier is iconic, and the town itself includes several museums and historic sites. So we hopped on a train for a comfortable ride from downtown London directly to central Brighton, on a cloudy Saturday. Read on…
My second hike in two weekends, just as beautiful as the first.
With one outside-London hike under my belt, at Box Hill last weekend, I was eager to try another. This weekend happens to be the annual Peak Bag, organized by Dartmouth alumni to raise funds in support of student mental health. I registered, thinking I might be an unusual participant (outside the U.S.). By the time I hopped on the train out of London, however, several participants had posted about their completed hikes in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. It is indeed a global effort! Read on, to see where we hiked.
A circuitous ramble over and around Box Hill in the Surrey downs.
Four weeks after arriving in London for a year-long sabbatical, I was itching to get outdoors – out in the hills, forests, and meadows, after weeks of city life. Don’t get me wrong – I am truly enjoying the chance to explore London, and to adapt to city living. But I am a country mouse, at heart, and needed to be out where I could climb hills, take in broad vistas, and listen to the wind in the trees. After some online snooping, I settled on this eight-mile circular walk around Box Hill, just an hour’s train journey south of London. Read on!
David Kotz 