Thursday, November 12, 2009

Greenwich by night

These are two photos I took tonight while walking along the river Thames in Greenwich. I only had my little camera with me (the one I keep in my handbag for emergencies) so the photos aren't very sharp. It was drizzling at the time and I was running late for my meeting - not a good combination for successful photography, but still.


The first photo is the view towards the Docklands on the north bank. I love the combination of low-rise traditional housing in the foreground and modern skyscrapers in the background, as well as the reflection of the lights in the water. To me, this view is iconic and sums up London very well.


The second view shows the Millennium Dome, also known as The O2, a large dome shaped entertainment centre originally built for the new millennium. It looks as if it's on the north bank, but it's in fact located on the south bank, just a little further along the river from where I was standing.

The bunch of lights on the left hand side of the picture is a Thames Clipper commuter boat speeding down the river. The short line in the sky on the right hand side is a plane approaching City Airport. The long green line you can just about make out on the left side (click to enlarge if you can't see it) marks the Prime Meridian, i.e. the line at which the longitude is defined to be 0°. The Prime Meridian passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, located on a hill diagonally behind the spot where I stood to take this photo.

5 comments:

Margarita said...

I always regret that I 've only passed by London to go somewhere else in England. It's pretty high on the to do list though!

VP said...

Nice shots for and a very good descriptiom, I never went there at night, it must be gorgeous. We walked almost all the Isle of Dogs this time, but didn't get to Greenwich... Next time!
P.S. - I'm glad you found the consulates post!

Tinsie said...

@ Marg: Well, you can't say I didn't try to get you to stop over last time you flew over our air space ;-)

@ Vogon Poet: The views from Greenwich to the Docklands are great, day or night. Next time I'll take a better camera with me and show you some more!

P.S. I read all your posts in both blogs, it just sometimes takes me a while ;-)

Unknown said...

These are great night shots! I especially like the first one.

Tinsie said...

Thank you. That's nice of you to say :-)