Walk No.5 - Blackheath to North Greenwich

Walk No.5 - Blackheath to North Greenwich
Date: 2nd January 2010.
Weather: Sunny, very cold, dry.
Distance: c.7 miles

Today's walk came from Mike Bigg's (of London Ramblers fame) list of self-guided walks in London. Today is the 2nd of January and now firmly within a new year and new decade. Today I persuaded a new friend to walk with me. We both had new years hangovers to dispense with (mine was on a momentous scale this year).

Greenwich is somewhere I do not know well, but I'm now involved in work for Greenwich Borough and my recent interest in stars has fuelled an interest of sorts (the park is home to the Royal Observatory although we didn't visit it on this occasion). We started at Blackheath Village and crossed the heath to enter Greenwich Park. It is a Royal Park and a World Heritage Site and will host the 2012 three day equestrian event. Like all Royal Parks, it has a well maintained feel to it. It is also surprisingly up and down with rewarding views of London's cityscape from the hilltop by the General Wolfe Statue.

Whilst the park is lovely, I think Greenwich becomes more interesting when you get down to riverside level. It is truly contrasting. Picking up the Thames National Trail you pass aggregate workings, the millennium dome, metal art works, Greenwich 'eco village' and huge transport infrastructure (the blackwall tunnel). It doesn't feel connected though. All these new things and old industry sit at odds.

You can see the Thames Tidal Barrier in the distance and Canary Wharf across the river. With the sun glinting at high tide on the river, there was a certain charm. But we were left with the feeling that this is not really London. It seems to far removed from all I know. But, then what do I know, I'm just a blinkered north Londoner.