United Kingdom Trip Day 8, Part 1: Greenwich Park, London, England

On our last day in the UK, Keith and I had tickets to the Greenwich Royal Observatory (GRO), located in Greenwich Park. We were originally going to go the afternoon we got back from Cardiff, but we realized we wouldn't make it due to our time constraints. So, I moved our visit to King's Cross Station to Day 7 and changed our tickets to the Observatory to Day 8. Audrey wasn't going to go, but since the days got moved around, she tagged along. After all, there's plenty to do in Greenwich Park, all of which is free except the Observatory.

After a long bus ride and plenty of walking, we made it! Audrey went off to explore the park while Keith and I made our way inside the GRO.

There's an old mirror telescope in a small building outside. You have to close the dark curtains to see anything, but if you look carefully, you can see an area of London reflected here.

The inside of the GRO houses an impressive collection of history and all the astronomical equipment people have used over the centuries to navigate the Earth and beyond.

One of the GRO's claims to fame is the discovery and placement of Greenwich Mean Time and the Meridian. The Prime Meridian was calculated here to designate where the Western and Eastern hemispheres began and ended.

This is the equipment used to calculate the Prime Meridian and where the line falls.

A massive telescope resides here. 

A modern marvel of its time, it allowed astronomers to see things in the skies that their forefathers could have only dreamt about. It's no longer in use, but impressive to behold nonetheless.

A statue of General James Wolfe, national hero, sits near the GRO and overlooks the city from the top of the park.

Of course, visiting the Prime Meridian was a highlight of my trip to the UK, so I made sure to stand on both the Western and Eastern hemispheres at the same time.

The view of London that General Wolfe's statue has.

After we visited the GRO, Keith and I made our way down the hill and to the other end of Greenwich Park. On the left is the Maritime Museum, while The Queen's House sits on the right. Audrey was visiting the Maritime Museum while we were in the GRO, so Keith and I decided to visit The Queen's House.

Contrary to what this picture shows, Queen Elizabeth I had nothing to do with The Queen's House, much to Keith's chagrin.

The Queen's House was originally commissioned by Queen Anne of Denmark in the early 1600s, but she died before it could be completed. It was then given to Queen Henrietta of France by her husband, King Charles I, a few decades later.

An old painting shows how the house looked amongst the landscape during its intended use.

A portrait of Queen Henrietta.

A view into a great hall.

The ceilings are elegantly painted.

The King and Queen both had extensive personal chambers with many rooms.

Queen Henrietta and King Charles I.

Primarily an art museum, it showcases mostly the history of the house and its inhabitants, but also showcases important art of the time with some connection, as well.

A painting of Windsor Castle, circa 1690.

A very old tapestry of a ship fleet arriving to shore.

A shot up the beautiful staircase.

Now, you don't actually need to spend money to visit the GRO if you want to stand on the Prime Meridian. On the street outside the far end of Greenwich Park are embedded metal circles that denote it.

And also on the sidewalk. Keith and I took Audrey out here so she could also stand on both hemispheres. 

At 183 acres, Greenwich Park is massive, and there is no shortage of things to do here. Unfortunately, time was not on our side, so we had to stick to just a few things before moving back towards the West side of London. Having said that, we did do more on this day than just go to Greenwich Park. In fact, I have so many pictures from this day that I decided I should split Day 8 into two separate posts. The second part of this post will be coming soon.

Until then, friends, enjoy your week.