Diving in maritime London | The Press

For centuries, London was at the heart of a global maritime power. Signs of this past can be found here and there in the British capital. Why not make it the theme of a visit for a few days, just to explore a different side of the immense metropolis?

The visit can begin in Greenwich, home of a famous observatory built on the exact meridian that separates the planet into two halves. To get there from central London, you can immediately immerse yourself in the maritime theme by taking the river shuttle Uberboat. It’s a little longer than the Tube and Docklands Light Rail, but it’s barely more expensive and much more pleasant. By boarding at Westminster Pier, you can see the city and its sights from a different perspective, pass under iconic bridges and admire the modern architecture of the City and Canary Wharf.

From Greenwich quay, we are a few meters from the Cutty Sark, a perfectly restored 1869 sailboat. It can be visited from top to bottom after paying an entrance fee of 18 pounds, which allows you to admire its steel structure and its original wooden cladding. THE Cutty Sark was the fastest ship of its time and was mainly used to transport cargoes of tea from China. There is also a very interesting exhibition on the tea trade. This drink was obviously very important in British society: we found a first advertisement in a newspaper from 1658.

With the appearance of steamships, the Cutty Sark lost its role as a merchant ship and took up a second career as a training ship. We ended up putting it in dry dock to preserve it.

Unmissable museums

The National Maritime Museum is nearby, in a beautiful heritage building comprising four wings joined by glass passages, making it a very bright whole. The value for money is unbeatable: entry is free.

The wings all focus on different aspects of the British Navy. We talk about the merchant navy from the 15th^e century, of course, but also of the great explorations and the role of Great Britain in naval wars.

We thus feature great Arctic explorers such as Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott and James Cook. However, we are not afraid to recognize the negative aspects of the arrival of Europeans on other continents, particularly in the South Pacific.

Obviously, the museum gives the spotlight to some great names of the royal navy, such as Admiral Horatio Nelson. In particular, the clothes worn by the admiral when he died during the Battle of Trafalgar are on display. We draw attention to this and that detail of the tunic, starting with the fateful tears.

Medical instruments are also likely to kill any nostalgia one might feel for this era (the amputation saw and the trepanation kit are enough to make one shudder).

The other essential museum, if you are interested in the maritime history of London, is on the other side of the Thames, at Canary Wharf. This is the Museum of London Docks, also free, and even more fascinating. The museum is located in a former warehouse on the West India Dock. Goods that passed through this important quay from the beginning of the 19th century were stored there.^e century, but some quays date from the 17th^e century. The museum also devotes a large section to the sugar trade and a parallel trade, that of slaves. It was necessary to find labor to exploit the Caribbean plantations. This is how a large part of the wealth of the British capital arises directly from this sad trade.

The museum also presents a life-size reconstruction of a 19th century sailor’s village.^e century, a particularly fun section which allows you to experience the atmosphere of the time (there are small cut-throat aisles which would suit sad characters perfectly).

One of the most moving sections focuses on the blitz during World War II: more than 25,000 bombs fell on the docks, but vital traffic was never interrupted.

The last section concerns the redevelopment of the quays from the 1970s: warehouses were transformed into residential buildings, huge office towers were built, basins were kept to establish marinas surrounded by restaurants and cafes. .

You just have to leave the museum to see the neighborhood life that enlivens the quays, especially on weekdays, when they are invaded by workers.

To complete this maritime tour, all that remains is to make one last stop at the London aquarium, Sea Life. Its sharks are impressive, its jellyfish are of particularly poetic beauty. But with an entry cost of £40, the value for money isn’t particularly stellar.