‘North Greenwich Art Trail’
‘The Tide’ riverside linear park, Greenwich Peninsular
OUT AND ABOUT POST - An Art and Design Trail around Greenwich and the Docklands
Oh, the eternal conflict of filling the school holidays with excursions that please everyone in my household! Luckily my daughter shares her mother’s love for all things ‘art’, but even that can feel a little stretched in week three of the summer break! My son who is about the enter those troublesome teenage years, would be permanently attached to his digital devices if allowed, and it takes every bit of will and effort to extract them from home and their needy access to screens!
Much persuasion is needed for the two of them to venture out and leave ‘their local area’…finally the tempting offer of a fast Uber-boat ride and Cable car trip make the excursion slightly more amenable to them, and they are jollied along with the promise of a cinema visit that evening to rest their weary legs from all the walking that ‘mother’, yes me, was about to impose on them!
So off we set to probably tick off most modes of transport, and take in some inspiring art and design on the ‘North Greenwich Art Trail’. Bus and tube to Embankment, we quickly embark onto the Uberboat which reached its high speed of 30 knots on our approach to North Greenwich. A great little jaunt in itself, it’s a lovely way to familiarise yourself with the geography of the city, taking in the iconic skyline as we sometimes smoothly, mostly speedily, hurtle along, river spray and all! First stop is the slickly designed building that houses the ‘Now Gallery’ as part of the Greenwich Design District https://designdistrict.co.uk/ , where you can view some inspirational architectural structures, close to Ravensbourne University Campus.
‘The Shape of Things’ at the Now Gallery, Greenwich
Printing Workshop
We explore the current exhibition at The Now Gallery https://nowgallery.co.uk/ ‘The Shape of Things’ by Simone Brewster, enjoying taking part in their printing session - making our own stamped pieces of art, inspired by Simone’s colourful geometric forms.
‘The Tide’ riverside linear park, Greenwich Peninsular
‘The Tide’ riverside linear park, Greenwich Peninsular
Second stop (well a walk actually!) is the Greenwich Art Trail of site-specific sculptures to explore https://www.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk/the-tide/ - from the colourful rainbow staircase you can traverse onto platforms that both form the art work themselves, and act as excellent viewing platforms of other large-scale sculptures dotted around. The kids get to run around and it’s the perfect stop-off point for the first of many ‘snack breaks’ and much needed caffeine hit for me!
Next we take the Cable Car across the River Thames, you can prebook tickets online, stamp your pre-paid Oyster, or (very quickly) purchase a ticket from the ticket office before boarding. https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-cable-car/
A very reasonably priced trip on our fourth mode of transport, provided us with amazing views of the City of London, the O2, Docklands and Greenwich Peninsular. The curve of the river against the vertical structures of the skyline provide quite a site to see, where we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the stunning aerial views of London from 90m above the River Thames, as we pass London City Airport and The Excel Centre.
Orchard Place
‘The Docklands’
‘Trinity Buoy Wharf’
‘Trinity Buoy Wharf’
A quick hop, one stop on the DLR, after our descent from the cable cars takes us to Canning Town, where we explore more of the Greenwich Docklands area. We are in effect on a tiny island, passing the National School of Ballet and various structures and bridges, where the River Lee joins the Thames. We explore the juxtaposed mix of ‘old and new architecture’ on our way to Trinity Buoy Wharf https://www.trinitybuoywharf.com/ , where the the history of the docklands and city is still evident and not yet polished and hidden away.
Here, we enjoy more city views and site-specific art works created from salvaged boat and metal structures on this post industrial docklands site. Many displayed are by the artist Andrew Baldwin, and the resident artists and crafters often exhibit their work in pop-up exhibitions alongside the artist studio complex. It’s a very nice spot to take in the views, enjoy some refreshments in the cafe ‘The Orchard’ https://www.theorchardcafe.uk/ and see the only ‘lighthouse’ in London that was built in 1866, and used by Michael Farrady to experiment and test for new lamps and lighthouse technology.
‘City views and artwork by Andrew Baldwin’ at Trinity Buoy Wharf
