London’s most attraction-packed neighbourhood is where time begins

Seven wonders of Royal Greenwich, London

London’s most attraction-packed neighbourhood covers all things maritime – as well as the beginning of time.

Discover the tea trade aboard the Cutty Sark

The speedy Cutty Sark.

A clipper revered for its speed, the Cutty Sark is now a museum ship in a dry dock by the River Thames. Head up to the deck for cheesy selfies behind the wheel, but the real interest lies down below, where the exhibition delves into the scale of the tea trade with China. Speed was of the essence – the first tea back every year commanded a much higher price – and the purpose-built Cutty Sark would carry 600 tonnes of tea on each run from Shanghai.

Get your sea legs at the National Maritime Museum

The National Maritime Museum.Credit: iStock

The “Nelson, Navy, Nation” section of the National Maritime Museum displays the coat naval tactician Horatio Nelson was wearing when fatally wounded, explores the naval origins of terms such as “first rate” and “true colours” and explains the world-conquering size of the British Navy. Australian visitors will probably be drawn to the Pacific Encounters section. Here, along with a huge Fijian canoe and the best-known portrait of Captain Cook, are several extraordinary early paintings of Australia by William Westall, draughtsman on Matthew Flinders’ voyage of circumnavigation.

Descend the Tulip Staircase at Queen’s House

The spectacular blue-painted Tulip Stairs.Credit: Alamy

There are more Westall paintings on display at the Queen’s House – the first classical-style Palladian building in England. The star of this Inigo Jones architectural masterclass are the blue-painted Tulip Stairs, which spiral downward with no central structure – the stone treads lock perfectly into the walls to make it self-supporting. Despite the name, the wrought-iron flowers are probably lilies – Queen Henrietta Maria’s symbol – not tulips.

Stare up at England’s Sistine Chapel

The Painted Hall and its ceiling.

Part of the Old Royal Naval College, the Painted Hall is a grand scale artwork that took James Thornhill 19 years to complete. The grandstanding ceiling murals portray King William III and Queen Mary II surrounded by the Five Virtues, while elsewhere there’s a captured Spanish galleon and the white, horse-pulled chariot of Greek sun god Apollo. The Painted Hall is the last stop on the Blockbuster Film Tour, which shows off via Pirates of the Caribbean, Sherlock Holmes and Bridgerton how ubiquitous a filming location the college has become.

Take in views from Greenwich Park

Greenwich College and the landscape of Greenwich Park.Credit: iStock

From the riverside attractions, take a stroll uphill through the 75-hectare Greenwich Park – once King Henry VIII’s private hunting ground. Alas, the famous deer have been temporarily removed to Richmond Park, but the project to restore the park to its 17th century look has seen the reintroduction of the Grand Ascent – giant grass steps. The viewing platform at the top has show-stopping views, with Queen’s House and the Old Royal Naval College on one side of the Thames, and the gleaming skyscrapers of Canary Wharf on the other.

Straddle hemispheres on the Greenwich Meridian

The Greenwich Meridian.Credit: iStock

Since an international conference in 1884, the world’s time zones have been measured from a line at the Royal Observatory. GMT means Greenwich Mean Time, and putting one foot either side of the Greenwich Meridian means you’re in both the western and eastern hemispheres. Try putting your phone on the line, however, and the GPS won’t show zero degrees. Due to bumps and dips on the Earth’s surface, GPS systems use the IERS Reference Meridian, 102 metres to the east.

Honour the H4 at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

Over the centuries, many of the star systems crucial for ocean navigation have been monitored and mapped at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Inside Flamsteed House, a second crucial project is explored – the accurate measurement of longitude. The Time and Longitude Gallery tells of disastrous shipwrecks that spurred the quest for cracking the conundrum, plus clockmaker John Harrison’s 46-year mission to build a reliable chronometer. Several iterations of his measuring machines, culminating in the successful pocket watch-like H4, are on display.

See rmg.co.uk, visitgreenwich.org.uk.

The writer was a guest of Visit Britain. See visitbritain.com