Green Witch (hee hee) (Greenwich)

Member Name: spacelamb

Product:	Greenwich
Date:	21/02/01 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap housing, great town centre

Disadvantages: some areas a bit rough

The Dome. There, I've said it. It's a sad fact that it's impossible to consider Greenwich as a place without first clambering over that mental obstacle, but in its defence the architecture is fab (especially lit up at night), and it provided a proper tube station for the area (North Greenwich), and...well...look, everyone makes mistakes. At least the 'Millennium Experience' part of it has gone now - with any luck, Ministry of Sound will buy it and turn it into one of the capital's biggest and best venues. Though I'm not holding my breath.

There's a lot more to Greenwich than the aforementioned white elephant (which we will not speak of again). It's an area with a lot of maritime history, and of course it is the home of 'time' itself (which I can never quite get my head round). It has a very high concentration of tourist attractions for a suburb, and the centre feels more like a seaside village than inner London. It's also a great place to live in the city, because it has good transport links (less than half an hour to central London) and is quite cheap, due to the SE postcode (and, I suspect, the proximity of Deptford, which is kind of stapled to one side of it).

Greenwich is probably best known for the Cutty Sark - a huge nineteenth century clipper ship now moored on the dock. I won't relay its history because frankly boats are boring (sorry), but to make amends for my omission I have found the official website for you - http://www.cuttysark.org.uk - and it is a veritable mine of information. If you want to scare yourself, wander around it at night, when it looks like a ghost ship. Whooooo.

Another fine way to amuse yourself is walk under the river on the Thames Path. This is free, and brings you out at Island Gardens on the other side. There's not much to do when you get there really, but the view is pretty.

The Royal Observatory is Greenwich's other recognised attracti
on, and is a lot more exciting. Situated in the lush Greenwich Park, you can get an amazing view of the capital and play on the Meridian Line (where you can stand with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one in the western). The Maritime Museum is also based in the park but again I have not the patience to talk about sea-faring things.

At the weekend, Greenwich has brilliant and varied markets - antiques, crafts, vintage clothes, music, organic foods. The actual shops in the centre are split into two categories - Boaty Souvenirs (yawn) and Old Things. There is a plethera of vintage clothes places (of which The Emporium and Observatory are best), and one of my favourite shops EVER, Flying Duck Enterprises, which sells kitsch (read: 'garish and reasonably hideous') retro homewares, accessories and much more. The premises are quite small but are crammed wall-to-wall with all-singing, all-dancing glittery tack. It's on Creek Road, opposite the Cutty Sark DLR station - go! There is also a regular Saturday CD Sale in the church hall, where you can pick up some genuine bargains.

There is also a long parade of shops and cafes that leads to the residential areas. As a place to live, Greenwich is quite middle-of-the-road (in terms of crime problems and so forth), but there are a lot of run-down estates that contrast starkly with the cosmopolitan centre. If you don't know where you're going it's best not to wander round at night (but then the same could be said of all London suburbs).

There are several nice bars and eateries - 'Time' gives you the best of both worlds and is highly recommended. 'Noodle Time' is another of my bestest things about Greenwich - effectively a fast-food restaurant (in terms of price at least - don't expect to pay more than around £5 per head), but the meals are huge and absolutely delicious. The Gloucester pub, which is slightly out of the centre, is predominantly gay but great
for cheap drinks (lots of £1 offers on weekdays) - parts of the film Beautiful Thing were also filmed there.

One part of Greenwich that I have left reasonably untouched is the Peninsula, the area around the Dome (sshh!) that is being regenerated. At present it is a bit of an industrial wasteland, but in a few years' time (apparently) it will be a leisure and retail mecca. Currently it houses the 'millennium' Sainsburys - the most environmentally friendly supermarket in Europe; a landmark school' that looks like a log cabin and has a creche, health centre and 24-7 internet access for students; and the promise of a multiplex cinema any day now (honest). It's still a bit rough round the edges and I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to visit, but I honestly believe in five years it will be a thriving mini-community.

Another area that is being developed at present is Deptford Creek, the no-man's-land that connects Greenwich and Deptford. The new houses appearing there are actually really nice - although a complete makeover for Deptford is long overdue (apparently putting the whole of SE9 underground is not feasible - hmph).

GREENWICH, LONDON SE10 (ZONE 2)
TRANSPORT:
Rail: Greenwich, Maze Hill, Westcombe Park
Docklands Light Railway: Greenwich, Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich
Tube: North Greenwich (Jubilee line)

Summary: