A new guide to Greenwich focuses on interesting and unusual places not found in traditional travel guides
Greenwich is the one London district whose name resonates around the world. As ‘the place where time began’, almost everyone has heard of it, so naturally many people want to come here when they visit the capital. With a memorable and picturesque Thames-side location, its maritime history means that there’s more to see here per square foot than any other outer London neighbourhood, and this new guidebook tells you how to do it.
111 Places in Greenwich That You Shouldn’t Miss – part of the international 111 Places/Shops series with more than 650 titles and 3.8 million copies in print worldwide – not only tracks down the most interesting nuggets among Greenwich’s mainstream sights, from the Cutty Sark to the Meridian Line, but also lifts the lid on the area’s lesser-known attractions.
From haunted Jacobean houses and mudlarking in Deptford Creek, to classic pie and mash shops and famous riverside pubs. It explores beyond the confines of Greenwich town centre, turning up treasures like Henry VIII’s favourite residence, Eltham Palace – now an Art Deco gem – and nearby engineering feats like the Thames Barrier.
Tarn Park Bird Sanctuary
Avian tranquility amid the hubub
To understand how this small hidden park managed to survive in the midst of a busy concrete jungle, we have to cast our minds back to the days when the Tarn was known as Starbucks Pond. Then, Eltham Palace was a royal retreat and the birthplace of Edward II. The estate was majestic. At some point, the grounds incorporated three lakes. Tarn Park is just a fragment left from the royal grounds, much neglected until 1935, when it was purchased by the Council for a public park.
The ornamental lake is fed by Little Quaggy, a small local stream, via a concrete channel situated at the back of the park. However there is a bit of a puzzle here, the wild meadow pound, next to the Tarn, doesn’t seem to have any source of water, and is a bit of a mystery. A possible explanation is that the water could originate from the 18th-century ice well. The latter is one of the earliest of its kind, and was used by kitchen staff at Eltham Palace.
Tarn Park is one of the very few bird sanctuaries in the capital. It’s home to a wide variety of wildlife: Canada geese and many types of ducks totter around to the delight of small children, and there are blackbirds, jays, tits, woodpeckers and herons among the species fluttering around this little oasis. A terrapin or two and a few goldfish have also found their way to the Tarn.
Sadly, and despite all the efforts of volunteers, the Tarn is overgrown with duckweed, and the water is very green. Friends of the Tarn is a group instrumental in its preservation, and it’s thanks to them that joggers, nature-lovers and generations of families are able to enjoy the area, and its abundant fauna. The Friends created a Nature and Butterfly garden, and have lovingly restored bird nesting boxes with funds collected at special events such as tea-parties. There is also a picnic area for visitors who want to spend a little more time here – just don’t forget your bird-watching binoculars.
Address The Tarn, Court Road, London, SE9 5AQ, www.thetarn.org Getting there Train to Mottingham with direct trains to London Bridge, Waterloo East, Charing Cross and Cannon Street on the Sidcup line; bus 124, 126 or 161; on foot, The Green Chain Walk, south east London’s walking route linking 300 open spaces by 50 miles of footpaths, passes through the Tarn Hours Daily 9am – dusk Tip The Tarn is adjacent to the UK’s oldest golf club: the Royal Blackheath Golf Club
Caradoc Street
Pretty as a picture, this street is a legend
South East London is often stereotyped as being rough with pockets of respectability such as Greenwich. That said, Greenwich is a place of two halves: broadly-speaking, the west is gentrified, while the east is gritty. Although located in a conservation zone, East Greenwich largely fails to appear on tourists’ radar. The area consists of a maze of small streets leading to the Thames, and this is where you’ll find Caradoc Street, in a charming and characterful enclave.
This sweet little street is lined by rows of two-up, two-down terraced houses, built for dock workers and their families in London’s yellow brick stock. They all look very similar, but while some are Georgian, others are much older, having escaped the ravages of the Blitz. They make the street unique, and a prime site popular with film and music video makers. For example, it features in the official video for Oasis’ single, ‘The Importance of Being Idle’.
The street was also made famous by its appearance in two feature films relating to the life and exploits of London’s notorious Kray twins. The Krays’ famous gang ‘The Firm’ terrorised London in the 1960s, the motto of Kray twins Reginald and Ronnie being, ‘Always shoot to kill, dead men cannot grass’. Number 32 Caradoc Street provided the set for The Krays’ family home ‘Fortress Valance’. By coincidence, number 32 also appears in the second film about the brothers, 2015’s Legend. This time, the house was the family home of Reggie’s first wife, Frances Shea. Their marriage lasted 18 months, culminating in Frances’ tragic suicide, at the age of 23. In real life, the Krays were from Bethnal Green, a little further east, but their main rival gang, the Richardsons, whose outfit went under the apt name of ‘The Torture Gang’, operated in this area. With these gangster-ridden days gone, Caradoc is now a lovely, well maintained street with flower boxes in the windows.
Address Caradoc Street, London, SE10 9AG Getting there Tube to North Greenwich (Jubilee Line), then bus 188 or 422 to King William; train to Maze Hill Tip Greenwich can lay claim to being one of the most popular film locations in the world: take a walk in the university grounds, and you’ll soon be transported to the set of Pirates of the Caribbean, The Queen, and many more.
Angerstein Foot Crossing
Stop, Look, Listen
This unassuming foot crossing, reached via a discreet alleyway between houses, may be unique in London. No wonder that in 2019, when threatened with closure, it became a hot topic. True, it’s a very convenient short-cut and widely used by local commuters to get to Westcombe Park station, but it’s also a symbol of our industrial past.
John Julius Angerstein was a London businessman born in St. Petersburg, Russia. There is speculation that he was of royal ancestry, but we’ll never know. The fact remains that he arrived in London aged 15, and started a career in finance, later working for Lloyd’s Bank as an underwriter. In 1774, he invested in land in the area now known as Westcombe Park and Greenwich Peninsula, hoping for good returns. This was a shrewd if not long-term investment. Almost a century on, in 1849, once the link between London and the North Kent Railway was completed, it paid off.
A railway line was needed to connect the mainline to the river to transport heavy goods. It was decided that the track would run across Angerstein’s land. People couldn’t travel the line, only heavy materials from sand to steel and everything in between were transported on the Angerstein narrow gauge railway. As it was a short and private line, building it was straightforward, and soon goods were on their way. The only problem came with getting livestock across.
Farmworkers called for a right of way for their stock to cross safely; the problem was solved with the Angerstein Foot Crossing. By 1950, the track terminal at Angerstein Wharf was considered too small to handle modern shipping, but it’s still useful for aggregate and other movements of stock. The single-track line is still operational, albeit with fewer trains running. Trainspotters take note: the foot crossing is the only place from which to get an excellent view of this historical railway line.
Address 32 Farmdale Road, London, SE10 0LS Getting there Train to Westcombe Park, go to the car park at the rear, and take the bridge over the A2; bus 108, 286, 335 or 422 to Westerdale Road; it’s a little easier from the other side of the footpath: take the alley next to 132 Fairthorn Street Tip One of the curios of the railway line between Greenwich and Woolwich is the fact that it still has a level crossing at the lower end of Charlton Lane, to allow over 300 trains a day to pass. This is the only level crossing left in Inner London, so the area has not one but two treats for train fans.
The book is fully illustrated, with 111 full-page colour photographs, and was written by local residents Solange Berchemin and Martin Dunford. Solange was born in Lyon, France, and moved to Greenwich with her partner three decades ago, working as a food and travel journalist for some of the major national newspapers and magazines, an international TV channel, and at The Greenwich Visitor. Martin is one of the founders of the international travel guide series Rough Guides, the author of more than 10 guidebooks, and was the publisher of Rough Guides for many years, before going on to found the UK travel and accommodation website www.coolplaces.co.uk. Martin also works as a freelance travel writer, and as a consultant, advising digital businesses on travel content. The book contains numerous colour photographs by Karin Tearle – who is local too. 111 Places in Greenwich That You Shouldn’t Miss, by Solange Berchemin and Martin Dunford (£12.99, published by Emons Verlag)