Thursday, June 29, 2006

Greenwich

When you're Top Nation, you can decide where time begins, so Britain has the Zero Meridian Line. Here is the clock at the Greenwich Meridian, from which Greenwich Mean Time is measured. The line is marked on the ground, so you can stand either side and have your picture taken. And people do!



The old Royal Observatory has been little more than a museum for years. The current observatory is at Herstmonceux in Sussex. Fans of Longitude might like to know that John Harris's famous clocks are displayed in the museum.


The Royal Naval College has become part of the University of Greenwich. Under the right-hand tower is the Painted Hall. King Charles II and William and Mary had the buildings erected by Wren and Hawksmoor on the site of the Tudor Greenwich Palace. The vista between the wings is breathtaking when viewed straight on, with The Queen's House perfectly placed between them. Here you can see it from an angle. It was built by Inigo Jones for James I's Queen, Anne of Denmark, but later completed for Charles I's wife Henrietta Maria. It is flanked by colonnades leading to other parts of what is now the National Maritime Museum.

Viewed from the hill on the other side, the view would be equally spectacular, but for the development on the Isle of Dogs opposite with hideous skyscrapers such as the Canary Wharf tower.

3 comments:

  1. Does the UK observe daylight savings time like we do over here? Because I was just wondering if you did, if the clock at Greenwich had to be reset for that. How accurate is the clock?

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  2. always a good place to visit for a lovely day out... I recommend it to all tourists who visit these shores.

    lotsa luv ann xxxxxxxx

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  3. We do have daylight saving, or British Summer Time as we call it, but the clock stays at Greenwich Mean Time.

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