"Tam tint his reason a’ thegither, / And roars out, ‘Weel done, Cutty-sark!’"

Greenwich - sabbatical 2, week 5

Coming back to England, we chose to visit the Greenwich Observatory for our last full day in London.  We first boarded the Cutty Sark, a preserved tea fast-clipper named for a character in Robbie Burns's poem "Tam o'Shanter."  It is out of the water and has no sails, but otherwise complete, with a paint job that emphasizes the original braces in the hull and what was later added in restoration.  Craig chatted with the guide on deck, a grizzled old sailor who knew all about the Bluenose and her exploits - another ship renowned for her speed. (If you're interested, Cutty Sark means "short skirt", which is what the witch was wearing when she chased Tam o'Shanter.  The reason the boat is named for this witch is because she could run as fast as a horse, almost catching Tam and his trusty steed before they got to the bridge - like the Headless Horseman, Cutty Sark cannot cross running water.)

On the Prime Meridian

We then made our way through the very yellow grass up the hill to the Greenwich Observatory to stand on the Prime Meridian and to tour through the historical buildings.  They include the Royal Astronomer's residence and the observatory itself, which still contains the largest visible light telescope in the U.K.  The Royal Astronomer does not still live in the residence.

For the information of future travelers - it takes a long time to get out to the Observatory, with multiple train changes.  We also talked to 3 or 4 employees of the underground who all gave us different advice on how to travel.  As a result, the trip from our Heathrow hotel to Greenwich cost us £60 and took over 2.5 hours.  The trip back was £22 and took 90 minutes.  And we took all the same lines, just changed at different stations.