Tired of London, Tired of Life - A website about things to do in London

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1 February 2009

Walk beneath the Thames

Greenwich is a myriad of delights for tourists, but one of its more understated features is the foot tunnel which runs under the Thames between the Cutty Sark and Island Gardens, on the Isle of Dogs.

The tunnel was designed by London's then chief civil engineer Sir Alexander Binnie opened in 1902. It is is 1,217 feet long and is about 50 feet below the Thames.

Originally built to get South Londoners who worked in the docks North of the river to work, it has largely been superceded by the DLR which now transfers bankers to their jobs in the same areas.

Clearly, it's just a tunnel and isn't worth making the journey in itself, but if you're down that way why not get off the DLR a stop early and have a look. It is also handy for cyclists to cross the river, and is part of the UK's National Cycle Route 1 which links Inverness and Dover. However, you must push bikes through the tunnel and the lift isn't always working.

The best DLR stops are Island Gardens and Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich. For more information see the page on Wikipedia.

^Picture from Wikipedia under Wikimedia Commons^

1 comment:

  1. And the lift down is pretty quirky! A large wooden affair with an attendant sitting on a chair inside it, it resembles an Edwardian drawing-room. It should really have a piano in it, being played by Helena Bonham-Carter in Room with a View.

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