Getting to the start
We arrived at Charlton Station which is the nearest train link to the Thames Barrier. From here we turned left out of the station on to Charlton Church Lane and walked down the hill to the Woolwich Road where we turned right and walked along to the 2nd roundabout and took the first left down Westmoor Street. Westmoor Street is bordered by many warehouses and garages and on a weekend is relatively deserted and to some level intimidating.
As you reach the end of the road you will see a tower with similar metal work on its roof to that used on the Thames Barrier. Next to it is a small green which you can get to though a gate in the fence surrounding it. Go through the green and go past the tower (either left or right) and you will reach the beginning of the Thames Path.
The Thames Barrier
Running alongside the Thames Barrier is a covered walkway. If you go to the beginning of the walkway, the end that where you face the Thames Barrier you will find the start of the Thames Path. The Thames Barrier was officially opened in 1984 and crosses 523 meters of the Thames in order to prevent the flooding of London. It was designed by Rendel, Palmer and Tritton and works by raising 10 curved gates up to stem the flow of the river.
Inside the covered walkway you will see a plan of the Thames showing key points along it and their heights above sea level.
Useful links:
Environment Agency - The Thames Barrier
Wiki - The Tames Barrier
As you walk away from the Thames Barrier towards the source you will see how wonderfully industrious this area of the Thames is. Flanking the river on both sides you will see a sugar refinery, sand mills, scrap metal processing plants and many more factories. You maybe luck and see a large barge either collect or depositing its wares as we did! As you pass the Greenwich Yacht Club you will see some brightly coloured residential blocks along the path, these form the Greenwich Millennium Village. These buildings were designed by Ralph Erskine and is sited on what was the largest gas works in Europe. To the side of these is the developments very own Ecology Park with its own hides where you will see a myriad of birds. The buildings themselves are said to be of an environmentally friendly design.
Millennium Dome
As we walked past the Greenwich Millennium Village we could hear what appeared to be a midday gig. To our left we could to see 2 huge tent/prefab type buildings. These
are the David Beckham Academy and this is where the music was coming from. Just up ahead from here is one of London's most controversial landmarks the Millennium Dome. The building was designed by Richard Rogers and was created to celebrate the new millennium putting on an exhibition for 1 year only. Since the end of the exhibition this building with the largest single roofed structure in the world has had little use and walking past it is quite upsetting as it has stated to become run down with plants growing up through the concrete and rain staining the canopy. However O2 now owns the dome and it has been renamed the O2 Arena and will be used as a music venue. It is expected to open in July this year (2007).Useful links:
Wiki - Millennium Dome
The O2
Canary Wharf
Across the Thames from the Millennium Dome (the O2) is London's own mini New York with many skyscrapers
including 3 of the UK's tallest buildings. Originally the wharf received many of its imports from the Canary Islands but now is where many of the major financial services are in residence. The tallest of the buildings is One Canada Square and was designed by Cesar Pelli.Useful links:
Canary Wharf
Soon after you walk around the Dome the terrain once again becomes industrial with some buildings being left derelict. I can not help but wonder what it would have been like in this area 25 - 50 years ago. If anyone reading this has any old photos of the area I would be grateful to see them and post them here.
As you come to the end of the industrialised area you will see the Greenwich Power Station. You are likely to have noticed the 4 huge chimney stacks as you left the area of the Dome. The building was completed in 1910 and was originally used to power the London Tram Network.
The area after the power station becomes more residential and some of the house are rather quaint. Continuing on past these house you come across the imposing National Maritime Museum which was opened in 1937. The museum was established because of an Act of Parliament in 1934 and contains a collection of 2.48 million items.
Useful links:
National Maritime Museum
Continuing past the museum you should see the form of the Cutty Sark, a tea clipper first launched in 1869. It is currently undergoing a conservation project to restore the wrought iron which is corroding throughout the hull. You can not see the ship at the moment as it is hidden behind boards and the great sails have been taken down. The conservation work will be finished in late 2008 and while you can not go on to it there is a temporary exhibition being launched in spring this year.
Useful links:
Cutty Sark
Getting home
Greenwich is where we end this part of the walk. There is lots to see and do here, for more information of what is available please see the links below. It is a good stopping point for both travel and food. So if you're hungry and you are doing the trip on the weekend it is worth popping in to the market to pick up a quick snack from one of the many stalls. If you just want to head off home your best option is the Dockland Light Railway (DLR). The nearest station is the "Cutty Sark" and from here you can get to Lewisham or Bank which will hopefully help you reach your final destination. This station is tucked away in a small shopping arcade. This can be found as you leave the square around the Cutty Sark exiting to the right. As you walk along you should see a mini Marks & Spencers and when you reach a bookstore take the first right after it. You should now be in the shopping arcade where you should easily be able to find the DLR.
Useful links:
DLR
Greenwich Tourism Zone
