Under the Thames and off to Scotland
Visitors who have seen the outstanding sights in Greenwich – the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory on the 0° meridian, the Queen’s House and the Cutty Sark – have not exhausted all the attractions there. In a circular brick building with a glass dome close to the Cutty Sark, you can descend to a tunnel, cross under the Thames and look back over the water from Island Gardens on the north bank to the splendid architecture of Greenwich and its park.
Tunnels have been built beneath the river in many places in London. The first of them, the work of Marc Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel from 1825 to 1843, connected Limehouse on the north bank with Rotherhithe on the south bank. This was also the world’s first tunnel beneath a river, and more were built under the Thames in the 19th century. They served Tube trains and obviated the need for technically challenging bridges across a wide river on which tall ships sailed.
Info
Address Greenwich Foot Tunnel, SE10 9NN | Public Transport DLR to Island Gardens (north bank) or Cutty Sark (south bank) | Hours 24 hours daily | Tip In The Old Brewery next to the Royal Naval College, excellent craft beers are on tap.
The Greenwich Foot Tunnel opened in 1902 to allow dockers to reach the warehouses and port basins on the Isle of Dogs, a peninsula on the north bank formed by a loop of the Thames. The tunnel is 15 metres below the surface and 370 metres long. It was made from cast-iron rings covered by a layer of concrete and 200,000 white tiles. Broad winding stairs lead down to it below the circular buildings at either end. Since 1904, lifts have operated. They were renewed recently, again for the benefit of those who work on the north bank – nowadays employees of financial institutions around Canary Wharf. Many go to work by bike, ignoring the instructions to dismount in the tunnel. If they don’t feel like going to the office when they emerge on the north side, they can simply carry on pedalling: the tunnel is part of national cycle route no. 1, which goes all the way from the south coast at Dover to the Scottish Highlands.
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