Published on Dec, 2024
I’ve been wanting to visit this place for nearly 25 years after it got bumped off our itinerary for something else that ended up being very disappointing.
So I had high expectations going in and was very excited to be there.
Hubby was in tow just going with the flow and our 2 kids aged 20 and 17 had very low expectations, but tagged along, paid for by the bank of Mum & Dad and accepting that Mum will put some boring history and science things in the trip that they’ll just have to suck up..
We bought on the day a joint ticket to also see the Cutty Sark (where you have to nominate a time to be there but the lady on the desk said don’t worry, they’ll be flexible on your arrival time once you’re there, and they were). By chance our arrival was right before the morning guided tour was about to start, so we booked that.
SOOOOO glad we did. Our guide was Paul. Give the man a pay rise, I’ve been on many tours in my day and have never come across a more engaging and knowledgeable guide.
At the start of the day I wanted to see the Prime Meridien and get a better understanding about why longitude was so important to navigation.
At the end of the tour I felt like I had enough information to pass a first year uni “historical navigation 101” exam.
We learned about why the observatory was built (commissioned by Charles 2 and architect was Wren), how to read the dolphin sundial, how the astronomers used their eyes and ears to map the sky, the ground breaker that was a clock that could be used at sea to tell the time somewhere else, so you could consult your map of the sky and plot where you were.
We also saw the huge telescope.
We were all enthralled. Kids said at the end of the”Mum, we thought that was going to be sh*t and boring but it was so cool & awesome.” We were still chatting about it at dinner.
I cannot recommend the guided tour enough. My only recommendation would be to pre advertise tour times on your website so people can plan their visits accordingly.
Paul, you’re a national treasure.
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