North Greenwich

This is the fourth station I have visited on the Jubilee Line. North Greenwich was opened in May 1999 and is at the northern end of the Greenwich peninsula about two miles from the historic town centre of Greenwich. 

It is one of the largest stations on the Jubilee Line capable of handling 20,000 passengers an hour as it was designed to cope with the anticipated crowds visiting the Millennium Dome ( now called the O2). 

All stations on the Jubilee Line extension are fitted with platform screen doors, separating the platform from the train tracks. This is mainly for passenger safety and prevents potential suicides. In the years 2000-2010 there were 643 attempted suicides on the Underground.

It is a  cavernous underground station that just serves the Jubilee Line.

The building above ground is just as large.

There is an integrated bus station at the front of the station.

The exit at the other side is completely pedestrianised and leads you to the Millennium Dome.

 

The Millennium Dome was built to house an exhibition to celebrate the beginning of the 21st century. It caused a great deal of controversy, not only because of the cost but because it didn't seem to have a real purpose. The exhibition which was organized into different zones: Body, Work, Money, Play, Talk and Rest was not exactly mind blowing and certainly didn't have any longevity. On Dec 31st 1999, a New Year's Eve celebration at the dome was attended by over 10,000 people including the Queen. The exhibition opened the next day and lasted for one year closing on 31st Dec 2000. It did not attract sufficient numbers to cover expenses and the dome was closed to the public. The structure was sold in 2001 and in 2007 the renovated building reopened as the O2 named after a mobile phone company, becoming one of London's main events venues. In 2012 it was temporarily called the North Greenwich Arena as it became one of the Olympic venues hosting gymnastics, trampoline and basketball.

This is a better view of the Dome from the other side of the river.

I didn't realise just how much thought went into the design of the Dome which is the largest in the world. The Greenwich Meridian Line which passes just metres from the Dome, provided inspiration for the design. The 12 support towers represent the 12 hours, 12 months and 12 constellations of the sky. The Dome is 52 metres at its highest point, representing its 52 weeks of the year. Each span is 365 meters apart, symbolic of the number of days in a year. There are 24 scalloped edges at the base of the canopy for each hour of the day. 

You can walk to the top of the Dome. I haven't been to the top so I can't comment about whether it would be a worthwhile thing to do. 

The site of the Dome presented a number of challenges as the land had once been owned by British Gas and was used to dispose toxic waste. The government, at great expense had to make sure that the land had been thoroughly decontaminated before construction could begin.  The Blackwall Tunnel, which carries traffic beneath the River Thames, had a ventilation shaft which stood on the site and needed to be incorporated into the Dome's design. The Blackwall Tunnel was built in 1897 destroying much of the original field and marsh area that made up the peninsula.  By 1900 a steel works had a large site on the peninsula but by the 1970s there was a decline in the gasworks due to the discovery of north sea gas. By the 1980s the area was becoming derelict. In 1997 the Government's national regeneration agency bought 121 hectares of land aiming to build a community rather than just another housing estate. 

So visiting the area surrounding North Greenwich tube station is different from any other station I have visited so far, as it is all modern, having been built within the last 25 years. 

 The most recent development is the Design Quarter which opened to the public in 2020. Here they have used eight different architects to design sixteen different buildings within a small area. Certain views of the O2 are protected which means that the new buildings could not be more than four storeys high. The developer is hoping to attract creative businesses. The blocks are close together which apparently is permitted for commercial builds but not for residential ones. 

One of the buildings has a basketball court on the roof which is not full size. I did meet one of the design team and asked why they chose a basketball court. He said it was because they wanted to create a social area and too many buildings now had roof gardens. Personally I don't think a basketball court is a great idea. 

The larger buildings you can see in the background are residential/university blocks.

 

The area has its own art gallery called NOW. It is a free public exhibition space for contemporary art, fashion, photography and design. It has large glass windows so you can view some exhibits from outside. Inside the gallery was this model of how the peninsula looks today with all the recent developments. This map from Transport for London shows how little development was there when it was printed in 2015. 

This is another interesting building, Ravensbourne digital media and design university. It moved here a few years ago but has expanded since then. It focuses on vocational courses in fashion, television and broadcasting, graphic design and product design amongst many others.

    

This wooden structure is called 33 and is a version of a Victorian terrace that stands at the entrance to the area's Central Park. The three storey folly has a central staircase that gives you elevated views of the area. It wasn't open when I visited so I couldn't climb up to see the views. 

I walked through Central Park to look at the oldest buildings on the peninsula.

This terrace of eight houses and the pub 'The Pilot' date back to 1801 and as far as I could find, they are the oldest surviving buildings on the peninsula. The houses were constructed for workers from the nearby tidal mill and chemical works. Now this is all that is left of that period of history and the buildings have been given a Grade II listing to protect them.

It was difficult to photograph the pub because of the scaffolding but there is a stone plaque on the wall that reads: Ceylon Place New East Greenwich 1801

The old buildings are now surrounded by new housing developments. 

A little further on at the other end of the peninsula is the Holiday Inn hotel. A favourite for tour groups and visitors to the O2. 

I then made my way across another green open space towards the River Thames and the Thames Path.

Surrounding the park is the Greenwich Millennium Village. After the opening of the Dome in 2000, the next stage of development began. The idea was to create a new village community within a large city. Once the first homes were released for sale they sold out in just 2 days. A new primary school opened as well as the Ecology Park

Over the next 20 years there has been continual development taking place here. The ultimate goal is to produce 40,000 new homes with everything else that is needed to sustain a growing population. Now there are shops, a nursery, a secondary school plus numerous eating establishments. The village has its own magazine and in 2017 launched the first of its annual Fayres.

Plans are now underway to expand the Ecology Park to include more woodland and waterways. The park is made up of an inner and outer boardwalk. The outer boardwalk takes you around this freshwater lake. There is another lake as well as a wildflower meadow, marshland and bird hides. 

Covid restrictions prevented me walking through the Park today.

I was now on the Thames Path walking back towards the O2  Dome and North Greenwich station.

Along the path were play areas for children as well as numerous high rise blocks of flats.

The remains of the piers used by the various industries on the peninsula in the 19th and 20th centuries.

 This one, known as The Jetty, is now being used by the local community as a riverside garden. Every week volunteers come to look after the plants and  grow fruit and vegetables.  

 

The zig zag wooden frames on either side of the Jetty are plant holders.

There is a programme of different events throughout the year including live music, supper clubs, urban gardening and workshops.

At the other end of the jetty is this sculpture by Damien Hirst called Hydra & Kali. Hirst, a former resident of the peninsula created this bronze sculpture for his Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable exhibition which was staged in Venice in 2012. The exhibition told the story of an ancient shipwreck, the Unbelievable, with his sculptures representing the salvaged cargo.

Another piece of art is this Seafood Disco by Studio Morison. This is apparently London's longest picnic bench designed for the community. 

It features communal barbeques and space for people to meet, cook and eat together. The table is 27m long.

Walking along the path you can see the cable cars crossing the river.

Before long I was walking beneath the Emirates Air line. This cable car links the Greenwich peninsula with the Royal Victoria Dock. It has been open since 2012 in time for the Olympics. It takes ten minutes to cross the river but this is reduced to five minutes during rush hour when they increase the speed. 

 You do get some great views of the Thames from the cable cars.

The cable car is sponsored by Emirates airline and on the Greenwich side there is a small exhibition centre. A huge attraction for the children is the cockpit where they can pretend to fly an aircraft which was a big hit with my 3 yr old grandson. The sponsorship comes to an end next year so I expect the exhibition will close then.

 One of the schemes that has been put in place along this part of the Thames was the restoration of certain parts of the river bank. Salt marsh terraces and reed beds have created a natural barrier and shoreline which has been a haven for wildlife and also acts as a natural flood defence.

This sculpture by Greenwich Pier is the Quantum Cloud by Antony Gormley. If you look closely you can see a figure inside the tangled metal. The sculpture is 30m tall and is taller than his Angel of the North.

There is a river bus service that operates regular commuter and tourist services up and down the Thames. Greenwich Pier is one of the stops and an easy way to get to the O2.

I left the Thames here to walk back to the Underground station.

This bronze statue of The Mermaid is by Damien Hirst and is another one from the Treasures from the Wreck exhibition.

The walkway from the Thames has been wrapped in this colourful artwork by Liz West called 'Hundreds and Thousands'. 

The artwork wraps around 700m of the walkway's glass balustrades. When the sun shines you get these wonderful multicoloured reflections.

The pathway has some wonderful twists and turns giving interesting views of surrounding architecture.

I had to come down to ground level to view this 8m sculpture properly. It is called  Head in Wind by the 81 yr old British artist, Allen Jones

This was a new one on me - High Flying Dining. These large cranes lifted these dining pods into the air for you to enjoy a meal whilst admiring the views. I just wondered what would happen if you needed the toilet!

Here I am back at the station after a very enjoyable and interesting walk around the Greenwich peninsula.