St George's Garrison Church, Woolwich

St George's Garrison Church.

I had read quite a bit about St George's Garrison Church and its history, but I had never been to visit it, until now.

As it is only open to the public on Sundays, unless for an exhibition or special event, it has always been difficult to find the time to get there. Fortunately, I was in the area as I had just visited Severndroog Castle, just down the road, which has a viewing platform that is only accessible on, you guessed it, a Sunday.

One of the church gates.

It was beautiful noon day as Keilyn and I wandered through the gates into the garden of this ruined church, the sun illuminating the gold mosaic above the altar, ahead of us. The canopy, above the remains, filtered the light making the whole place glow.

The canopy protecting the ruins.

The mosaics are stunning, with the St George mosaic being my favourite along with the Victoria Cross Memorial.

The mosaics glinting in the diffused light.

The walls, pillars and columns are all still in place creating a wonderful place to reflect.

Severndroog Castle and Tea Room

Severndroog Castle.

Sunday June 30, 2024.

It was a beautiful summer morning as Keilyn and I visited Severndroog Castle and Tea Room, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It was a place that I wanted to visit for a while, but finding a Sunday when we were both free, plus ensuring that we picked a clear day, had always been tricky. 

We took the Metropolitan line to Finchley Road, where we changed to the Jubilee line to North Greenwich. From here we clambered aboard the 486 bus towards Bexleyheath, grabbing the front seats on the top deck, at which point the heavens opened and it began to rain... hard.

Fortunately it stopped as we stepped from the bus, at Memorial Hospital and walked the 10 minutes to Castle Wood and Severndroog Castle.

A covered area to enjoy tea and cake.

We stopped for a hot drink in the Tea Room before we ascended the spiral stairs to each of the floors, checking out the shop and various rooms, before we went up on to the viewing platform.

Looking out across London.

Although the rain had stopped it was still slightly overcast, but the views were quite impressive. 

Keilyn is Queen of the Castle.

A volunteer was on hand to point out various locations, relating to the James family, along with pointing out the landmarks that could be seen. There was even a box of binoculars, which Keilyn enjoyed looking through.

Woolwich Free Ferry

Looking from the south terminal to the north.

Although you can traverse the River Thames by foot, either by bridge, tunnel or cable car, you can also choose to go by train, by road or boat.

The Woolwich Free Ferry, however, is only suitable if travelling from South Woolwich to North Woolwich, but it is still a fun way of travelling and offers some great views along the Thames. Plus, it is completely free to use.

Woolwich Foot Tunnel

 

The south entrance to the Woolwich foot tunnel.

Of the roughly 40 tunnels beneath the River Thames, the majority of which carry utilities, railway lines and motor vehicles, only three allow pedestrians to use them: The Greenwich foot tunnel, the Woolwich foot tunnel and the Rotherhithe tunnel, although the latter is not advisable, unless you want to look like a chimney sweep and breathe in noxious fumes.

Friday June 3, 2022

I finally managed to get myself to Woolwich, so that I could walk through the foot tunnel, leaving only the Rotherhithe Tunnel for me to walk through.

It was a beautiful morning as Keilyn and I made our way along the Thames Path from North Greenwich to Woolwich, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the four-day Jubilee weekend.

With lots of building work going on along the River Thames, at Woolwich, the entrance to the foot tunnel was difficult to locate, at first, being sited behind the Waterfront Leisure Centre.

Once we discovered the entrance, which is the oldest remaining building in the riverside area, we made our way down the 94 steps of the spiral staircase to the tunnel itself.

The lift shaft in the south entrance.

Once we reached the tunnel we began the walk towards the north bank. There were few pedestrians using the tunnel, but there were plenty of cyclists, disobeying the rules by cycling through the tunnel. 

Looking back towards the south entrance.

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

The entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel at Greenwich.

Of the roughly 40 tunnels beneath the River Thames, the majority of which carry utilities, railway lines and motor vehicles, only three allow pedestrians to use them: The Greenwich Foot tunnel, the Woolwich Foot tunnel and the Rotherhithe tunnel, although the latter is not advisable, unless you want to look like a chimney sweep and breathe in noxious fumes. 

The Greenwich foot tunnel, which I have traversed on numerous occasions, is the oldest pedestrian foot tunnel in London, linking Greenwich with Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs.

The south entrance is located in front of the Cutty Sark, while the north entrance is situated in Island Gardens.

You have the option of descending the stairs or wait for the lift to be free. I always take the stairs, which spiral down to the white-tiled tunnel.

Running in a straight line, it takes roughly 8 minutes to traverse. 

The Greenwich foot tunnel.

The northern end has some thick concrete and steel lining, which covers bomb damage from World War II, that does narrow the interior of the tunnel for a short distance.

Plaque.

Bomb damage repairs.

Rendez-vous Tall Ships Regatta, 2017

 

Looking across the River Thames towards the Old Royal Naval College.

Saturday April 15, 2017.

With more than 30 Tall Ships mooring up at Greenwich and Woolwich, I decided to head off with Erin and Keilyn to see these incredible ships.

Arriving at Embankment, by train, we caught a Thames Clipper to Greenwich, as this seemed the most appropriate way to see the ships. Plus, we got to sail beneath Tower Bridge, something the girls and I had wanted to do for a while.

Looking back at Tower Bridge from the Thames Clipper.

As we reached Wapping we began to see some of the tall ships heading towards Greenwich. 

'Christian Radich'.

From our perspective at the stern of our Thames Clipper the tall ships seemed to tower over us.

'Tolkien'.

'Christian Radich', a Thames City Cruise and 'Tolkein'.

Disembarking from our river taxi, we headed into the Old Royal Naval College and soaked up the atmosphere. Music, food and a real festival vibe greeted us.

'Loth Lorien'.

'Vera Cruz'.

'Loth Lorien'.

Suitably entertained by the various music acts and more than suitably fed we made our wat towards the Cutty Sark, before heading down the spiral staircase, of the Greenwich Foot tunnel, and headed northward to Island Gardens.

'Santa Maria Manuela'.

'Tolkien'.

'Hydrogen' travelling from Woolwich.

After a great day looking at the various Tall ships and enjoying the festival atmosphere, we headed to the nearest DLR station and began our journey home.