Many of the London hop-on-hop-off buses throw in a free
river cruise – often to Greenwich,with the ticket. And even if you are
not doing that, a visit to Greenwich can make a good day out.

The Beetle’s favourite way of getting there is to go
on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Island Gardens and to walk through the
foot tunnel to Greenwich. There are some fab views, particularly in Winter,
looking south, across the river.

Once in Greenwich, there’s quite a bit to do: visit
the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum – and
it’s free!

The museum building itself is quite interesting: it used to
be an asylum building (i.e. what was referred to as a mad house) and then it
was a hospital school.

What’s there to see? In the museum, you will find a
collection of all things relating to the history of Britain at sea. But this
has been updated to include the dangers of sea pollution and ecology, as well
as Nelson’s seafaring antics.

The collection dates back to 1823 when a National Gallery of
Naval Art was established, featuring some 300 portraits, paintings and
artefacts.

The National Maritime Museum opens daily 10:00-17:00
Sun-Mon. Closed 24-26 Dec 2002. Train: Greenwich Train Station. Enquiries: 020
8858 4422 Entrance: FREE.