Sailing the River Thames to Greenwich

Viking Venus crossed from the English Channel into the River Thames just after noon today. It would take us almost three hours until we arrived at Greenwich, and a former river pilot provided insightful sailing commentary along the way.

I didn’t start taking photographs until we approached the Thames Barrier. This was quite the sight to see in the middle of the river, and our expert explained that the barrier is one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world.

The Thames Barrier

We also passed the O2, an arena once known as the Millennium Dome. The dome is one of the largest of its type in the world, and the arena has the second-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom.

The O2

We admired two major historic sites that can best be viewed from the water. Sitting high on a hill overlooking the river is the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The observatory is the home of Greenwich Mean Time, the Prime Meridian of the world, and London’s Planetarium. Sitting directly on the banks of the river is the Old Royal Naval College, a grand structure that we would be visiting later in the afternoon on a walking tour.

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich

The Old Royal Naval College

We arrived in Greenwich at 3:00 pm. It’s hard to believe the cruise is almost over.