Abbey Wood Caravan Club Site, London

London and rain; two words that seem to fit together, although the forecasted showers did not arrive until after I had a load of washing on my little rotary clothes line this evening. 

This morning we caught the train from Abbey Woods through to Cannon Street near the centre of the city, or at least close enough to show on tourist maps of the city. We used the controversial South East Rail, considered so because last year when we were here, there were strikes, delayed or cancelled trains and on Sunday next, they are increasing their fares much to the consternation of the regular commuters. However today we were well pleased with the fact it took a mere half hour to travel a distance that would have probably taken an hour and a half had we taken the cheaper option of the bus.

We found our way to the Underground and travelled through to the Liverpool Street Station, then walked the relatively short distance through to the Old Spitalfield’s markets. We had done our homework in that we were aware that at least half of the area had been demolished to make way for finance industry offices, but we did expect something more in line with a traditional market filling the remaining red-brick and green gabled market hall, that built in 1893.

What we found was a very smart market area, much of it taken up with eateries in the same way that the Greenwich Old Markets are, a good part made up of stalls selling LPs and the rest with more upmarket craft and accessories. We did buy a “newspaper cone” of hot chips; vinegar included, and were briefly tempted to buy a rather smart cap for Chris until we learned the rather extortionate price.

There has been a market on the site since 1638 when Charles I gave a licence for “flesh, fowl and roots” to be sold in what was then known as Spittle Fields. In the 17^th century, French Huguenots settled here, and in the late 19^th century the Jewish community was predominant. These days it is more home to the Bengali community, aside from the “suits” that frequent the area during the traditional working week.

Our guide book had also drawn our attention to Christ Church immediately adjacent, so we headed there after consuming our greasy morning tea (I say “greasy” because I have an aversion to eating anything cooked in oil or fat before lunchtime). The church designed by Nicholas Hawkesmoor, whose name crops up from time to time as one travels about, was constructed between 1714 and 1729. Its main features are the 225 foot high spire and giant Tuscan portico. The interior is quietly elegant and was a peaceful spot to sit and listen to a clutch of organists gathered about the organ taking turns to entertain the random visitor. The organ was installed in 1735 by Richard Bridge and was the largest in England at the time. Handel was inspired to try it out and I can only imagine how wonderful that would have been.

We were curious about the ten plaques placed in the vestibule, noted as we arrived.  They were erected here in Christ Church in 1897 from the recently demolished Jews Chapel in Palestine Place, Bethnal Green. There were references to the efforts in turning the Jewish citizens to Christianity, a rather futile exercise I would have thought, although I know for a fact that many still try to achieve this end. 

As we had made our way to the Spitalfield’s market, we had noted a sign to Petticoat Lane, a familiar phrase and we thought we’d better check it out. The Petticoat Lane Market is a fashion and clothing market, which was still sorting itself out well after 11am on this Friday morning. However we could not miss the many permanent shops in Wentworth Street selling textiles; bolts of bright and gorgeous fabrics. 

In the absence of expected vibrancy, we decided to head to London Gate Station where we caught the DLR back to Canary Wharf. There we found a quiet spot surrounded by waterfalls and pigeons to eat our lunch before heading back to the Dockland’s Museum. 

At the museum we learned more about the demise of the Docklands, a far more informed and factual account than I suggested in my posting yesterday. There was an extensive section on the slave trade and England’s role, much a repetition of that we had learned in that wonderful museum in Liverpool last year. 

But more specifically I learned that in 1672 Charles II chartered the Royal African Company, a chartered company formed by investors or shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonisation. Charles gave the Company a monopoly over all English trade on the west coast of Africa for 1,000 years. His brother James (later James II) became one of the Company’s largest investors and attended many of its board meetings. No other trading company, not even the East India Company, enjoyed such powerful royal backing. From its headquarters at Africa House in the City of London, the Company traded English woollen cloth, alcohol, and firearms for African gold, redwood dyes, ivory and enslaved people. With the support of the royal family, the Royal African Company became the single largest contributor to the entire transatlantic slave trade from the 1500s to the 1800s, shipping about 150,000 enslaved Africans mostly to Barbados.

There is much of our past to be ashamed of, but then, if history had been different, the world would not be as it today.

We spent a couple of hours there working our way through the treasures and wealth of history until we were footsore and fact saturated. It was time to return home, first on the DLR to the Cutty Sark Station in Greenwich, then on the bus with the commuters, students and workers, mostly black and mostly better dressed and coiffed than us.

Abbey Wood Caravan Club Site, London

Today marks two weeks in the UK; given the fact I spent more than a week lounging about in a semi- invalid state, I guess we have done okay. It is just as well that we are not restricted to a holiday or tour of just weeks, as so many tourists are. There are fortunately many months ahead to fill with more exploration and touring. 

This morning dawned better than yesterday, despite rain having been heard all through the night. Alas it did not stay away all day, but we did not let it spoil our outing.

After breakfast, we spent time on the telephone forward booking camping sites through to the end of the May Bank Holiday which extends beyond the long weekend at the end of the month. Alas we will be paying peak season tariffs, but we are at least secure in the knowledge that we have somewhere to park our wheels. We also checked in with Chris’s brother back in Suffolk to confirm the date we would return to base; Chris’s godson, his nephew, has invited all of us oldies to dinner at his bachelor pad and from past experience, we know this will indeed be a treat. We are also to go out to dinner to celebrate the three siblings’ birthdays, all happening within a ten day window in the middle of June; they will be turning 69, 71 and 74 respectively, my husband the baby of the threesome. However this still leaves us with a month to fill with our own touring schedule.

We caught the bus soon after 9.30am toward Greenwich, but alighted near Woolwich and made our way on foot to the Thames Barrier, both the Information Centre and the river bank from where this engineering feat can be viewed.

The £500 million Thames Barrier was completed in 1984, after eight years of construction. The 520 metre span is one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world, others of significance are in the Netherlands, Boston and New Orleans in the United States, St Petersburg in Russia and Venice in Italy, some of these still a work in progress.

The River Thames has flooded from time to time over the centuries, the last in 1953 when three hundred lives were lost. This occurs when there is a storm surge in spring tide conditions moving up from the North Sea.  In 1879 the Thames River Prevention of Floods Act was passed, which led to higher and stronger flood walls and embankments along the river. However it was not until 1972 the Thames Barrier and Flood Protection Act was passed, the first step toward real action.

The concept of the innovative rotating gates used in the design of the barrier was devised by Charles Draper in 1969, based on the design of the taps on his gas cooker. Films in the Information Centre demonstrated the intricacies of the construction and even I, a very impractical person, could not help but be impressed by the engineering. The barrier divides the river into four sixty one metre and two approximately thirty metre navigable spans. There are also four smaller non-navigable channels between nine concrete piers and two abutments. The flood gates across the openings are circular segments in cross sections, and then operate by rotating, raised to allow under spill and to allow operators to control upstream levels and complete 180 degree rotation for maintenance. And if all of this is gobbledy-gook, I would encourage those interested to either visit the site themselves or have a look at You-tube films explaining it better than I can.  

We were also interested to note that the site marks the end or beginning of the 180 mile Thames Path National Trail which follows the river to its source. We did walk a little of this last year when we were staying in western London; we thought it might be good to seek out other sections of the trail. 

It was nearly midday by the time we caught the bus onto Greenwich where we found a park bench near the Cutty Sark, and within the shadow of a war memorial which memorialised those from New Zealand no less; how was that for a co-incidence!

We then caught the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) through to Canary Wharf. Docklands was once the largest enclosed cargo-dock systems in the world, and for the same reasons that the docks in Liverpool which we visited last year, they were rendered defunct in the 1960s. 

Nowadays, the cargo ships dock further downstream near the big container port near Thurrock, east of the Dartford Bridge. And so the docks became an eyesore, better known as the desolate and neglected playground for criminals, although that opinion is mine and gleaned from film and television dramas. However in 1981, the London Docklands Development Corporation was formed with the objective of regenerating and finding new uses for the former docks of London. The light rail was built and Canary Wharf was born. Today the area comprises sky-scraping offices and stylish restaurants and bars, all based around a vibrant cosmopolitan waterside setting . It is a super modern Venice on steroids.

The light rail wends its way through the amazingly stunning modern buildings, high above the ground, and emerges from the centre of some and disappears into others. A train ride alone offers an incredible view of this impressive precinct, and construction still goes on and will no doubt continue to amaze.

Apart from wandering from dock to dock, passing through well planned squares and malls, dodging the “suits”, because most of the workers here are employed in high finance and live a life far removed from average Joe Bloggs', we found our way to the Museum in Docklands. 

This museum, opened in 2003, is housed  in a Grade I listed 19^th century Georgian warehouse built in 1802. As we so often manage to do, we immediately joined a tour of “Sailortown” on the second floor, just four of us including the guide, passionate about his subject. By the time the tour ended, it was time to head home even though we had seen nothing else of the museum. It took near on an hour to travel back to Greenwich on the DLR, then the bus back to Abbey Wood, by which time the rain had set in and we arrived back at camp rather bedraggled.

Abbey Wood Caravan Club Site, London

The day is closing with rain as it started, all as forecasted. For that reason we delayed our departure this morning, not willing to spend the day rain sodden as we waited for public transport. 

Two days ago we had learned from our guide who led us around the Old Royal Naval College that Greenwich Palace had been Henry VIII’s favourite palace together with Eltham (pronounced Eltim) Palace. I had previously noticed this on our road map, but it had not initially featured on our to-do list. Today was the perfect opportunity to explore this royal residence, little known to foreigners from the Antipodes.

The truth is that the palace itself is long gone, but this does not negate the tourist appeal. 

The first mention of any settlement on the site was made in the 1086 Doomsday survey, when it was recorded as belonging to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror. The property changed hands several times through until 1295 when Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, acquired it. It was he who is said to have rebuilt the manor house and constructed a defensive perimeter wall and brick within the moat, and he who bequeathed it to Edward II in 1305 on his death.   It was then used as a royal residence from the 14^th and 16^th century, the Great Hall built by Edward IV in the 1470s, and it is here that Henry VIII spent much of his childhood.

The Palace then fell into decline and by the 18^th century was a picturesque ruin, narrowly escaping total destruction. During the 1640s, Civil War Parliamentary troops who were quartered here, badly damaged the palace and the deer park, cutting down many trees for firewood.

By the 1820s, under threat of demolition, the importance of the surviving buildings was finally recognised and efforts were made to repair them. In 1859 the farmhouse adjoining the Great Hall was rebuilt as a fine residence, and the Hall was reincarnated as an indoor tennis court.

In 1933 the palace site was leased to Stephan and Virginia Courtauld, a couple who did little but live off the wealth created by Courtauld ancestors, silversmiths and later rayon manufacturers. To their credit, they saved the Palace, building a new, modern house next to the medieval Great Hall and developing a fabulous new garden. They stayed on, even enduring substantial damage during the Blitz, but finally left in 1944 when they headed for Scotland then on to Southern Rhodesia, passing the lease on to the Royal Army Educational Corps in 1945; the corps remaining here until 1992. In 1995 English Heritage took over management of the palace, and in 1999, completed major repairs and restorations of the interior and gardens.

The result and outcome of all this change of ownership and great wealth, is that the public now have the opportunity to see a glamorous 1930s showpiece, an eclectic mix of Art Deco, ultra smart ocean liner style and cutting edge Swedish design. 

We arrived right on opening time, the rain having abated, so we set off around the nineteen acres of beautiful gardens. The Courtaulds had wonderful taste, imagination and most of all, endless funds; perhaps we could all do as well if money were no object. As the rain started again, we headed into the house, and armed with audio guides, spent a couple of hours exploring every nook and cranny. 

Not only were we delighted with the palace and gardens, we were also impressed with the suburb of Eltham, a little oasis in the rather unattractive suburbs south east of the Thames.

We retreated to our camp via the local Lidl superstore, where we managed to buy twenty times the volume of groceries on our list, and then I took the opportunity to cook up a batch of bolognaise sauce to freeze. Hopefully the rain will have passed by tomorrow morning and we can venture out again to make the most of our last three full days in the city.

Abbey Wood Caravan Club Site, London

This morning dawned with clear skies and the promise of summertime temperatures. We left the camp at about 9 am and headed back to Greenwich on the bus. I spent some time trying to reach the booking office for Eltham Palace who also looks after The Ranger’s House, without success. Our guide book explained that there are two tours only and surely we needed to secure our place? Frustrated by the lack of response by telephone, we called into the Information Centre and were told there that we should simply turn up, and all-comers were invited in. So we set off up the hill toward Blackheath, and found ourselves alone in the garden before the entrance to the House. At a few minutes before 11 am, the front door opened and we were beckoned inside. A couple more tourists arrived and we spent over an hour and a half exploring the English Heritage administered House and more importantly the collection displayed within.

The Ranger’s House itself is not particularly impressive, although it has housed a few royal hangers-on since it was built in 1723. But it is the eclectic collection of treasures, amassed by Julius Wernher, the German born millionaire who made his money exploiting (yes, there is that word again) the diamond deposits of South Africa. While we did find it all most interesting, the tour would appeal more to those who enjoy shows like “Antiques Roadshow” and the like.  The collection of nearly seven hundred items includes early religious paintings and Dutch Old Masters, minute carved Gothic ivories, Renaissance bronzes and silver treasures, Italian pottery, medieval and Renaissance jewellery and the erotic life-sized marble statue, “The Love of Angels”.

While we did find it all quite interesting, we found the Queen’s House more to our taste. After leaving the Ranger’s House, we picnicked in the adjacent rose gardens then walked back across Greenwich Park, past the Royal Observatory which was just as busy as yesterday, and down into the Museum space, which incorporates the Queen’s House.

Begun in 1616 as a garden retreat for Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, the House was designed by Inigo Jones and was the first fully classical building in England. It was completed in about 1638 for Queen Henrietta Maria and for more than one hundred years, it passed from queen to queen, either with the crown, or as a gift from king to his consort.

The House has been a 17^th century royal villa filled with contemporary artworks, an artist’s studio, lodgings for a royal mistress and French refugees, residence for the Ranger of the Park, a naval orphanage and school, a war-time billet, and a museum and art gallery. Today it serves once more as an art gallery and in my opinion, competes well with the National Portrait Gallery. Needless to say, we found it most impressive.

Next on the list of Greenwich attractions was St Arfege Church , this particular structure nearly three hundred years old, although there has been a church on the site for over a thousand years. Unfortunately it was closed when we called, so we had to be satisfied with circumnavigating the exterior. 

From here it was not far to the entrance tower to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, although we did detour through the market which was established by Royal Charter in 1700. Originally it sold fruit, vegetables and livestock; today there were more cafes than craft, and there were plenty of tourists enjoying the wares and services on offer. 

We walked across to Island Gardens beneath the river, us along with a hundred or so very noisy schoolchildren.  There is one thing worse than being encased in a tunnel fifteen metres under the Thames, that is being surrounded by the whoops and shrill cries of young teenagers. But as we emerged on the north side of the river, we were treated to the lovely views back to Greenwich Park and the fine buildings which line the river.

Back in Greenwich, we treated ourselves to ice-creams from our favourite Scottish restaurant then caught the bus home, this time managing to secure ourselves two of the front upstairs seats, the very best vantage spot in a bus.