Greenwich

After disembarking from the Thomas Dugget (refer previous post), we spent the day exploring England's nautical history. First, we boarded the Cutty Sark, a former merchant ship that transported tea from China and wool from Australia to England. Next we headed up the hill to the Royal Observatory, where we learned about how the British learned to chart the stars and measure world time from a single reference point (the Meridian Line), both important navigational aids for sailors crossing the seas. We straddled the Meridian Line, standing with a foot in both the East and Western Hemisphere. All very interesting. For those who are Bridgeton fans, you may recall the Bridgeton clan and one Duke taking a very similar trip, where Daphne states that she's ".... not even certain what this meridian here at Greenwich is.” To which the Duke explains “It’s the point from which all longitude is measured. It used to be that sailors and navigators measured longitudinal distance from their point of departure, but in the last century, the astronomer royal decided to make Greenwich the starting point.” Daphne raised her brows. “That seems rather self-important of us, don’t you think, positioning ourselves at the center of the world?” “Actually, it’s quite convenient to have a universal reference point when one is attempting to navigate the high seas.”Read more