Food, Days Out and Travel stories from Brighton, London and the Rest of the World

Monday

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich

The birds are tweeting in Brighton and spring has most definitely begun, so it's strange to think that just over a week ago we had such heavy snow. So infrequent is this occurrence that I want to share the photos I took in Greenwich when it was blanketed in white. While I was there I loved looking at all the splendid Georgian buildings and discovered they have one of the few Hawksmoor churches as well as finding a great place for a burger.

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac, the Queens House




Snow was falling fast and I had planned to go to Greenwich for a talk about a Remarkable Woman at the Queens House, part of a series of lectures on Remarkable Women programmed for March 2018.

I had my train ticket booked, annual leave agreed and my ticket confirmed. The lecture I was so keen to go to was about an exceptional eighteenth-century woman who had pioneered the use of inoculation against smallpox and wrote an eyewitness account of the Ottoman Empire from a female perspective. I felt I just had to go.

Watching the news at 8am the BBC were warning people not to travel, while via text my sis advised pavements in London were treacherous due to black ice and snow in Brighton made me think my plan to go to Greenwich should be abandoned.

However I didn't want to give up just yet, so I decided to go to Brighton station anyway and take it from there. The thing is with snow days, it can actually work to your advantage sometimes. Despite dire warnings my train left on time and what was really great was the train was nice and empty.

The train arrived at Greenwich station 15 minutes before the talk on Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was about to begin and I had to find my way to the Queen's House on time. Despite freezing hands I held my phone in front of me, to sat nav my way there and walked slowly like a penguin.

Along the High Street I spotted a golden sign promising honest burgers and as I shuffled past the seed was sown for a return visit.

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac, Honest burger


I was getting close and around the next corner I found the great buildings of the Maritime Museum and the Queen's House appearing before me. They lay in the distance and in front of me the lawns were covered in a heavy layer of virgin snow. It was a spectacular sight.

With literally minutes to spare, I made it to the talk, which I plan to share in another post along with photos of the fabulous tulip staircase.

Afterwards, I walked around the back of the Queen's House, designed by the hugely influential Inigo Jones and found Greenwich Park rising up to the Observatory Tower.



Once at the top I enjoyed the view for a moment along with the tobogganers and other visitors before making my way back to the town centre via another path and out a side gate.

Just outside the park I discovered a road lined with some rather elegant Georgian homes. Every house looked as if it dated back to the eighteenth century and as I walked past I tried to imagine what it must have been like to have walked down the same road two hundred years ago.

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac


Outside one of these houses, there was a blue plaque dedicated to Benjamin Waugh, the man who founded the National Society for the prevention of cruelty to children.

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac


It was two o'clock and I hadn't eaten since early morning, so it was time to find that Honest Burger joint and try their fare. Pitching up at a table for one I asked for a burger cooked medium with Swiss cheese and a child's sized chocolate milkshake. The burger was delicious but I think actually would have been even better if I had gone for mature cheddar. As standard, all their burgers come with a plateful of fries, liberally coated in rosemary and salted.

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac, Honest Burgers

The fries, disappointingly, could have been hotter and when I mentioned this to the very helpful waiter he was apologetic and wanted to replace them straight away. I didn't want to wait so I said it was fine to leave it but I thought I should let them know. Would I go back? 100%, I loved my burger and the burger came with a delicious onion relish, a winning addition to the great flavour combos that were going on.

Before leaving Greenwich I had one more detour to make and that was to the church I had passed on my way from the station. I love going into old churches and they always have a story to tell and offer a moment of peaceful contemplation. The lady I spoke to by the entrance had also gone to the Remarkable Women talk and we shared our thoughts on all that we had heard.

Days Out in London - Pretty Georgian Greenwich, photo by modernbricabrac, Hawksmoor St Alfege


To my delight I found out it is one of the very few Hawksmoor churches that exist, there are only six in total and I love the one located in Spitalfields. I also discovered St Alfege's does crypt tours and has perserved parts from the organ used by Thomas Tallis, the organist to the Tudor Kings and Queens.

Happy exploring

Sarah xx


photo 
Sarah Agnew
Blogger, Modern Bric a Brac
    

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