Blogs Along the Thames: Greenwich to the Thames Barrier

Dottore Gianni is a great fan of the British TV series MI-5, or as it's called in the U.K., Spooks. The series is now over, and the good doctor resisted the urge to watch the last season this past fall, as he had fallen behind in watching it in the U.S. and wanted to enjoy the build-up to the end as it should be seen -- in order!

In fact I'm very much looking forward to netflixing it as soon as I return to the states. What in the name of God has that to do with Greenwich and the Thames Barrier? If you're a fan of the series you're already ahead of me, as in one of the most thrilling of season enders, bombs are set in the Thames Barrier and the fearless agents must thwart the bombing to save London! The goal of seeing the Thames Barrier made my walk from Greenwich to the Thames Barrier exciting. The walk, as you'll read below, did not live up to its promise, but the barrier itself was awesome.

The Thames Barrier

So, how did the good doctor get from from point a to point B? The journey started with a tube ride from Gloucester Road to Canary Wharf, and from there a DLR trip (Docklands Light Rail) to Greenwich. I've written about Greenwich in the past, 

The Cutty Sark
rising like a Phoenix from the 2006 fire

and I'll not take too too much time on it here, except to say that it is one of my very favorite places in the greater London area. In addition to the historical/cultural reasons to see it: The Old Royal Naval College, The Queen's House, The Royal Observatory (home to the Prime Meridian),The Cutty Sark (now nearly restored to its former glory) there are also smaller pleasures such as perusing the indoor market, strolling along the waterfront, exploring the streets and checking out the local pubs and taverns. In the past I've referred to it as the REAL Greenwich Village and after having visited a few times recently I'll gladly hold to that claim.

But to my walk! I retraced my steps through the city, past the Trafalgar, the Yacht, Trinity Hospital and the power station, and the Cutty Sark Pub. 

Not the prettiest of Thames walks

I must tell you that for a good bit of the walk after that, the areas I passed turned from dull neighborhoods to factories and other such buildings, to be honest a big dirty industrial zone. I trekked along an increasingly widening road that led to the Blackwall Tunnel, famed for its daily traffic jams as workers try to drive into or out of central London. The first third of the walk (after the lovely sights in Greenwich) was the worst of any of my Thames walks. 

Things got more pleasant after I crossed the pedestrian walkway over the road to the tunnel. I was nearing OZ: O2 land, Olympics land, and while there was a lot

O2

of construction there was also a good bit of green. By the way, after Greenwich and up to this point in the walk, none of the walk was on the riverside, but not too long after passing O2 I again came upon the river. At this point the Thames becomes somewhat surreal to me. It's why I refer to it as OZ. The culmination of the surreal is the Barrier itself, but looking towards the Barrier or back towards London proper there is a good bit of mud and old decaying boats and piers juxtaposed with some of the most futuristic looking, and usually unidentifiable, of objects. This made the walk if not beautiful, fascinating.

Surreal structures along the Thames

Mud, the old and the new along the Thames

Even the housing in this area was unusual looking, at least for my taste. The bright colors and unusual structure in the photo below remind me of something a child might build with blocks!

Housing along the Thames past O2

As one approaches the barrier there is a surprise amid all the surreality: an old fashioned pub on the waterfront! During the week it must service mostly workers, but it's also a place, the only place along the Thames Path, where the tourist can sit down, relax and have a pint before heading closer to the Barrier.

Tables outside at the Anchor and Hope, a pub along the river
Thames Barrier in the background

So! what IS the Thames Barrier? It is the second largest moveable flood barrier in the world (one in the Netherlands is bigger), designed to protect London from flooding during unusual storm surges emanating in the North Sea. 

A look at the Thames Barrier

Construction was begun in the mid 1970s and was completed in 1982. There has already been talk of creating an even larger barrier farther down the Thames, but this one has been built, it is said, to be effective for a thousand years. I have been reading how it works, but do not have the scientific savvy to relate the system here. Whatever it does, however it does it, it certainly is an amazing looking structure. 

a closer look at one part ot the barrier

There is a park, a cafe, an information center (closed the day I was there) at the Barrier, accessed from the west via a tunnel on the walls of which is a graphic of the Thames, from its beginnings to the Barrier, a distance of approximately 180 miles. It's a very clear picture of the different sections of the Thames, and of course as a result of my walks along the river I am now much more familiar with several of the places noted on the graphic. It's all quite fascinating to me, though as I've noted already, beyond my ken!

Park and cafe at the Barrier

After strolling through the park in the area of the barrier, after contemplating a tea and cake at the cafe (but deciding against as there was still a good  bit of a walk left and no place to relieve oneself - yes, that again!), and finally after sitting on a bench and staring my fill at the strange but strangely beautiful barrier, I decided it was time to get back to central London.

The barrier from the other end, and Canary Wharf in the distance

I had hoped to make my way farther, on what is called the Thames Path Extension, to Woolwich, from which I could take a train back to to the center, but I was unsure how to make my way there, and once again I couldn't find Thames Path markers to guide me, so instead I made my way back to 02, about a half-hour trek. By the time I got to the tube station there (North Greenwich) I was seriously tired and very happy to ride and relax my legs a bit after a long and somewhat frustrating but ultimately very rewarding expedition to the Thames Barrier.

the home stretch - O2 and the tube station off the photo to the left

This may well be my last post in my series of Thames walks, as I have now walked all the way from Richmond (a bit past it actually, as I've been as far as Ham House) to the Thames Barrier. While I have some ambitions to walk as far as Hampton Court Palace, that would entail at least two pretty long expeditions, and I'm not sure I've got the time for it. I feel a sense of accomplishment as well as satisfaction because I've not only got a good bit of exercixe, but also have seen much of London that I'd never have seen otherwise, and learned a good bit about the city, the river and their history as well!