Last Sunday I had a day alone in London so hunted for something to do, coming across an outdoor dance event involving a shipping container (Dance Umbrella). It was at Trinity Buoy Wharf which I'd never heard of let alone visited. Boy, if you'll excuse the pun, was I in for a treat!
Trinity Buoy Wharf used to owned by Trinity House who, amongst numerous nautical services, manage the lighthouses and buoys around England and Wales. They used the wharf to house spare buoys and run lighting trials: indeed Faraday experimented here. There were even trial lighthouses built.
The Corporation of Trinity House withdrew from the wharf in 1988 and 10 years later Urban Space Holdings took over and since then have created an amazingly creative living and entertainment space opposite the O2.
I'd heard of this innovative container housing. In the area it was, with its wonderful river views, I suspect these are not cheap.
This is the second lighthouse that was built, Bow Creek Lighthouse (they demolished the first).
It was free to climb - and so I did. Wonderful views across to the O2.
And it has the smallest benchmark I've even seen.
One thing that excited me greatly was discovering that the measurement of MSL was first defined here - before Liverpool before Newlyn. I knew Liverpool pre-dated Newlyln but had no idea that Trinity Buoy Wharf pre-dated them both. Sadly you can't see the datum line - maybe I'll need to hire a boat next time to have a proper hunt?
This wharf has the first ever tidal/lunar clock, alunatime. The clock face shows the lunar cycle and the chimes musically play the state of tide.
Anyway, the reason I initially headed to the wharf was for the dance show. Well, it was weird to be honest. It involved 40 minutes of watching a container slowly unfold and an artist drape herself around it to some mournful bongs from a speaker.
She stood on top and swung an axe.
It wasn't really my cup of tea but I'm delighted it got me to this amazing wharf.
I headed back towards the DLR and realised that East India Docks were open. That drew me in...
On the dock gates I spotted a marker for MSL. Not the marker, but the one for these wharf gates - where O-D = Ordnance Datum.
There you go - enlarged.
You can see the lovely clear tidal height marked in the wharf walls on the other side.
As I wandered to the East India DLR station I espyed the wonderful sign "Prime Meridian Walk". And as I turned I realised that it was directly across the Thames from Greenwich.
I turned and followed it north as long as I could, which wasn't far.
I took the DLR to Bank and then decided to walk back to Vauxhall. This took me a while, especially as I stopped and explored the interesting Gabriel's Wharf on the South Bank en route. And to end my long traipse, a view of the Thames as the sun faded. Beautiful.
Trinity Buoy Wharf used to owned by Trinity House who, amongst numerous nautical services, manage the lighthouses and buoys around England and Wales. They used the wharf to house spare buoys and run lighting trials: indeed Faraday experimented here. There were even trial lighthouses built.
The Corporation of Trinity House withdrew from the wharf in 1988 and 10 years later Urban Space Holdings took over and since then have created an amazingly creative living and entertainment space opposite the O2.
I'd heard of this innovative container housing. In the area it was, with its wonderful river views, I suspect these are not cheap.
This is the second lighthouse that was built, Bow Creek Lighthouse (they demolished the first).
It was free to climb - and so I did. Wonderful views across to the O2.
And it has the smallest benchmark I've even seen.
One thing that excited me greatly was discovering that the measurement of MSL was first defined here - before Liverpool before Newlyn. I knew Liverpool pre-dated Newlyln but had no idea that Trinity Buoy Wharf pre-dated them both. Sadly you can't see the datum line - maybe I'll need to hire a boat next time to have a proper hunt?
This wharf has the first ever tidal/lunar clock, alunatime. The clock face shows the lunar cycle and the chimes musically play the state of tide.
Anyway, the reason I initially headed to the wharf was for the dance show. Well, it was weird to be honest. It involved 40 minutes of watching a container slowly unfold and an artist drape herself around it to some mournful bongs from a speaker.
She stood on top and swung an axe.
It wasn't really my cup of tea but I'm delighted it got me to this amazing wharf.
I headed back towards the DLR and realised that East India Docks were open. That drew me in...
On the dock gates I spotted a marker for MSL. Not the marker, but the one for these wharf gates - where O-D = Ordnance Datum.
There you go - enlarged.
You can see the lovely clear tidal height marked in the wharf walls on the other side.
As I wandered to the East India DLR station I espyed the wonderful sign "Prime Meridian Walk". And as I turned I realised that it was directly across the Thames from Greenwich.
I turned and followed it north as long as I could, which wasn't far.
I took the DLR to Bank and then decided to walk back to Vauxhall. This took me a while, especially as I stopped and explored the interesting Gabriel's Wharf on the South Bank en route. And to end my long traipse, a view of the Thames as the sun faded. Beautiful.
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