All aboard!
A group of young people, staff and volunteers ventured into unchartered territory this week on the latest of our summer activity days. We'd already enjoyed trampolining, arcade games and Stubbers, but on our latest trip, we went a little further afield, with a rare visit to south east London!
Our destination was the jewel in the crown of this part of the capital; beautiful, historic Greenwich, and we made the journey in style! One of the key activities we undertake in our youth clubs is travel training and those skills were put to good use as we took the underground to West Ham and the Docklands Light Railway to Royal Victoria Docks.
At this point, we decided to take the scenic route to the other side of the Thames with a trip on the Emirates Airline cable car, that links Royal Victoria Docks with the Millennium Dome on the Greenwich peninsular. A couple of our group (adults, mainly!) were a bit nervous about being up so high, but there was no need for concern as we shared a couple of cable cars on the way over the river and enjoyed spectacular views of south east and east London. There was plenty to take in during the six minute crossing as we picked out landmarks such as the Excel Centre and City Airport in the east, as well as the Shard, the Thames Barrier and Canary Wharf.
Once we landed, it was a short hop to the pier next to the Dome, where we took a riverboat round the peninsular, alighting at Greenwich Pier, right next to the Cutty Sark and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. After a couple of photos of the famous ship we headed through Greenwich Market towards Greenwich Park, where we found a quiet spot for lunch in the Royal Observatory Garden.
Next stop was the statue of James Wolfe outside the Royal Observatory, where we took in the spectacular views across London, and of course, no visit to the park is complete without visiting the Meridian Line and taking the obligatory photograph with one foot on the eastern side of the world and one foot in the west!
There was plenty more to see, but with time ticking away we headed back towards the river, although there was just enough time for a brief stop on the way back to the village for an ice cream! Then we were back on the DLR and heading home. Thanks to all the staff and volunteers for their help - the young people really enjoyed the day!
