The Greenwich foot tunnel is a pedestrian tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in East London, linking Greenwich in the south with the Isle of Dogs to the north. The tunnel is currently undergoing refurbishment and the works should be complete by March 2011. The tunnel was designed by civil engineer Sir Alexander Binnie for London County Council, and was constructed by contractor John Cochrane & Co; the tunnel was opened on 4 August 1902. The entrance shafts at both ends lie beneath glazed domes, with lifts and spiral staircases allowing pedestrians to reach the sloping, tile-lined tunnel at the bottom. The cast-iron tunnel itself is 370.2 m long and 15.2 m deep. Its cast-iron rings are lined with concrete which has been surfaced with some 200,000 white glazed tiles. The northern end was damaged by bombs during World War II and the repairs included a thick steel and concrete inner lining that reduces the diameter substantially for a short distance.

You really shouldn’t miss a visit to the dry dock at Greenwich where you will be able to see the Cutty Sark, which will be reopened to the public in 2012, following restoration after fire damage.

The Cutty Sark was built in Dumbarton Shipyard in Scotland in 1869. She was designed by Hercules Linton for Captain John Willis. The planking, deadwood (lower inside part of the ship’s stem), the stem and stern were made of American Rock Elm, although the original keel was replaced by pitch pine in 1927.

She is the last tea clipper to have crossed the oceans; a clipper is a fast narrow ship with three masts and square rigging. She is 212 ft long and was once the fastest sailing ship in the race around the Cape of Good Hope to bring the highly profitable China tea to England. Unfortunately, the newly opened Suez Canal wasn’t suitable for sailing ships and she began to lose money as smaller ships passed through the Canal carrying tea chests without having to sail round Africa.

She carried her last tea cargo in 1877. From then until 1895 she was used in the Australian wool trade, before being sold to Portuguese traders. In 1922 the Captain Dowman bought her from the Portuguese and his widow donated her to the National Maritime Training College, where she remained until being retired in 1954 and opened to the public.

There has been a market at Greenwich since the 14th century, but the history of the present market dates from 1700 when a charter to run two markets, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, was assigned by Lord Romney to the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital for 1000 years. Greenwich Market sits in Greenwich town centre within an area called the Island Site, which is bounded by College Approach, Greenwich Church Street, King William Walk and Nelson Road. Greenwich Market trades five days a week but the shops, cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants around the Market are open seven days a week, including Greenwich Printmakers, the oldest-established printmaking co-operative in the UK. Wednesday is a food and homewares market day, Thursdays and Fridays specialise in antiques and collectibles and arts and crafts. Weekends and bank holidays attract arts & crafts and food stalls. There are a wide selection of specialist shops, bars, restaurants and a café, all open seven days a week.

The most famous riverside landmark in London is undoubtedly the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich and you really shouldn’t miss a visit to this lovely World Heritage Site.

The buildings were designed by Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicolas Hawksmoor in 1696. After Sir Christopher’s death Sir John Vanbrugh took over the supervision of the construction which was terminated in 1712.

The college was first built as a hospital on the site of the Palace of Placentia. Queen Mary II commissioned the building because she wanted a naval hospital and rest home for sailors, as a counterpart to Chelsea Hospital which was for soldiers.

The hospital was “split” to avoid spoiling the view of the river from Queens House. There are four main buildings, called Courts: King Charles Court, Queen Mary Court, Queen Anne Court and King William Court. There are two gatehouses and a processional route to Queens House and park beyond. The hospital became the Royal Naval College in 1873 until 1998.

In the King William Court you can admire the famous Baroque Painted Hall. On the ceiling of the Lower Hall are portraits of King William III and Queen Mary II; Paintings of Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark grace the ceiling of the Upper Hall and King George I is to be found on the North wall of the Upper Hall.

The lovely chapel in Queen Mary Court is also open to the public. The University of Greenwich has taken out a 150 year lease for the Queen Anne, King William and Queen Mary Courts. Visits include the Jacobean undercroft (cellar) and the Victorian skittle alley. In the Visitor Centre you will find documentation about the architectural and craftsmanship of the college and you can enjoy a drink and a snack in the Old Brewery Café next to the Centre.

In the centre of Greenwich you will find the lovely St Alfrege Church which is well worth a visit. It was a Royal church in Tudor times when the court was held in Greenwich.

The original church was dedicated to Alfrege, Archbishop of Canterbury who was killed here by Viking raiders in 1012 who destroyed the church at the same time. A second church was built on the site in 1290 and the future king, Henry VIII was baptised here. In 1710 most of the building collapsed during a storm – the foundations had been undermined by burials in and around the church.

Nicolas Hawksmoor rebuilt the church in 1714, incorporating the original 13th century tower into the building’s Baroque style. He had wanted to build a new tower, but there wasn’t enough money for this. However the tower became unsafe and in 1730 it was encased in a new tower. In 1830 the spire had to be replaced after it was struck by lightning. The church was badly damaged during the Blitz of 1941 and restored in Georgian style in 1953.

Inside the church you can admire a beautifully restored 17th century mural by James Thornhill. You will also find four memorials to General James Wolfe: an 18th century Edward Peary painting,“The death of Wolfe”, a wall tablet, a replica of the coffin plaque of the hero who defeated the French at Quebec and a stained-glass window in his honour.

The National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Greenwich is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and 17th-century Queen's House. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Museum has the most important holdings in the world on the history of Britain at sea comprising more than two million items, including maritime art (both British and 17th-century Dutch), cartography, manuscripts including official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments, instruments for time-keeping and astronomy (based at the Observatory). The Museum awards the Caird Medal annually in honour of its major donor, Sir James Caird. The museum was officially established in 1934 within the 200 acres of Greenwich Royal Park.

You can’t miss the Royal Observatory which is prominently situated on top of a hill in Greenwich Park, and you really shouldn’t miss visiting this fascinating place.

Commissioned by King Charles II in 1675, the Observatory has played a major role in astronomy and navigation and, of course, is the location of the Prime Meridian. You can stand in the courtyard where the Meridian Line has been traced at Longitude 0°, and have one foot in the East, the other in the West.

The building now belongs to the National Maritime Museum and you will find the Museum of Astronomical and Navigational Instruments within its walls. It really is the most fascinating place to spend an afternoon. You can admire John Harrison’s Longitude Marine Chronometer, lent to the museum by the Ministry of Defence. Other time-measuring artefacts are displayed to show the importance of the precision of timekeeping for navigational purposes.

You will also see the 28’’ Grubb Refracting Telescope built in 1893 and several astronomical galleries which explain the formation of the planets and the mysteries of the Universe. There are interactive workshops for children, which help them to understand the Solar System.

In the grounds of the Observatory is the Peter Harrison Planetarium, which uses a digital laser planetarium projector, the first of its kind in Europe. You can see Earth from space and space tracking satellites in orbit around our planet. Beside the gate hangs the Shepherd Clock, made in 1852, with its 24 hour dial.

Sadly, you can’t visit Vanbrugh Castle on Maze Hill overlooking Greenwich Park, unless you have a couple of million pounds to spend, but there is nothing to stop you taking photos of this truly amazing building that looks as if it has just been transported from the French Revolution.

The castle was designed in 1718 by Sir John Vanbrugh who was the surveyor of the building of the Royal National Hospital after Sir Christopher Wren died. Sir John built the castle for himself, on over two acres of gardens and woodland, overlooking the park he loved. For an even better view, he installed a roof garden on top of the castle.

If the castle, with its towers, crenulations, gatehouses, ramparts and arched windows reminds you a little of the French Bastille, it isn’t surprising as Sir John based his designs on the prison, where he spent a short time after being arrested in France and accused of being a spy.

After his death, the castle remained empty until it was used as a school for the sons of RAF servicemen killed in the two World Wars. The school closed down in 1975 and the castle was transformed into maisonettes, two of which have been on the market for some time, with an asking price of £2 million.

As well as being an architect, Sir John was a playwright and was known for writing funny, rather rude (for his time) plays, in which he defended the rights of married women.