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Greenwich Royal Observatory

By Lorraine

 
 
 A spectacular view from the Royal Observatory overlook located in Greenwich, England.

 
Platform 9 3/4 ~ if you are familiar with the Harry Potter books you’ll recognize this as the fictional location for departure of the train to Hogwarts, selling magic artifacts and wizarding gear. Abbey is a big fan so we made sure to visit for a photo.
 
 
 Because of its popularity, the station has the area set aside where fans can snap a fun pic. 
 
 
Then, how can one visit London for the first time and not enjoy a Proper English Tea!
 
 
 
 Next, we head to Tower Pier to board a boat for the Themes River Cruise.
 
 
Tower Bridge ahead
 
 
 passing under the Tower Bridge
 
 
view of Greenwich and the Cutty Sark 
 
 
Off the cruise boat, we walked to the Naval College, the Maritime Museum and past the Cutty Sark.
 
 
 It was a hike up a tall hill and then lots of steps to reach…
 

Greenwich Royal Observatory

 
 
the Royal Observatory
 
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian. The observatory is situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the River Thames.
 
The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August. The site was chosen by Sir Christopher Wren. At that time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal, to serve as the director of the observatory and to “apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of 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 the perfecting of the art of navigation.” He appointed John Flamsteed as the first AR. The building was completed in the summer of 1676. The building was often called “Flamsteed House”, in reference to its first occupant. source
 
 
and this gorgeous view
 
 
 We waited our turn
 
 
to stand on the Prime Meridian Line to have a foot in both hemispheres
 
Hemispheres
 
The prime meridian and the International Date Line create a circle that divides the Earth into the eastern and western hemispheres. This is similar to the way the Equator serves as the 0 latitude line and divides the Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres. 
 
The eastern hemisphere is east of the prime meridian and west of the International Date Line. Most of Earths landmasses, including all of Asia and Australia, and most of Africa, are part of the eastern hemisphere. 
 
The western hemisphere is west of the prime meridian and east of the International Date Line. The Americas, the western part of the British Isles (including Ireland and Wales), and the northwestern part of Africa are landmasses in the western hemisphere. source
 
 

 From Greenwich we headed back to the cruise boat, this time disembarking at Westminster Pier. Dusk turned to night and the evening became chilly.

 

 John took this panoramic view.

 

 The Parliament Building in golden illumination.

 

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower. The tower is officially known as the Elizabeth Tower, renamed as such to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The tower holds the second largest four-faced chiming clock in the world. The tower was completed in 1858.

 

 

Back in our hotel room, we watched an episode of Downton Abbey that our friends back home will have to wait until January to see.

So excited to share our next day…
the most special day of our trip!

 

 
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Comments

  1. lindsey says

    Your photos are fantastic! We used to live near Greenwich and so I really enjoyed seeing your views from there. Im pretty sure I would have enjoyed that English Tea too 🙂 Looking forward to seeing more of your trip, might even recognise one or two people 😉

    Reply

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