London walks - Greenwich
		Blackheath "Blackheath" is sometimes said to be connected to the bubonic plague or "Black Death" as in Gravesend (the last plague burials), but it appears to simply relate to the darkness of the heath vegetation or its gravely soil, the name meaning "bleak heath". The term "Black Death" is in any case a modern invention.  The heath is now grass and very flat, having lost many of its hollows when rubble from WW2 bomb damage was dumped there. It originally belonged to the Earl of Dartmouth and the Queen but was bequeathed to the nation for the recreation of Londoners..  return The Cutty Sark (1869) 963 tons. Built at Dunbarton on the Clyde of iron and wood composite construction as a "tea clipper" for the china tea trade where speed was everything in bringing back the new season's tea crop. However the Suez canal was soon built, which was inaccesible to such ships, so The Cutty Sark was soon engaged in the wool trade with Australia, where it set many records for the voyage. When this trade diminished it was sold into Portugese hands until 1922, when Captain Wilfred Dowman saw it in Falmouth and bought it for £3750. In 1938, now restored to its original condition, Captain Dowman's widow presented it to the Thames Nautical Training College to be used as a training ship at Greenhithe, where it remained until moving to its current dry dock in 1954.<website> .The Cutty Sark is currently in need of extensive work to cure the effects of salt in the timbers on the metal work of the ship, so do pay a visit. (Hint. Don't be put off by wet windy weather, standing on the deck in a squall will give you a better feel of being at sea in a tea clipper than a sunny and possibly busy day).  return The Queen's House Designed by Inigo Jones and built 1616-1635 for Anne of Denmark, wife of James I in the palladian style. Restored in the 90s to 17th Century style, the house contains an extensive art collection featuring Gainsborough, Hogarth and Reynolds. The earlier Greenwich Palace was demolished in 1694. return Covered market The covered market was built in 1831 and now houses a good selection of craft stalls as well as some clothing and quality food Friday to Sunday. Fans of black and white photography should not miss Fergus Noone's gallery. <Website> return The Royal Observatory Built by Wren in 1675.Exhibits include a collection of clocks and a planetarium. return Foot tunnel Built by Cochrans for the LCC in 1902 to enable dockworkers living in Greenwich to walk to work on the Isle of Dogs across the river. The steps and lift descent 60' to the tunnel. return Royal Naval College Built as a hospital, established in 1694 the building became a naval college in 1873 and in turn the premises of Greenwich University and Trinity College of Music, in 1999. return Greenwich Park Greenwich park is a royal park and is the oldest, dating from 1433. return
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