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Siri Arntzen

February 24th, 2017

My neighbourhood: Greenwich

1 comment

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Siri Arntzen

February 24th, 2017

My neighbourhood: Greenwich

1 comment

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

While staying in halls has its perks and wonderful sides, living a bit outside the city centre is also an opportunity as a student. I live in Greenwich, in south-east London, which means that my neighbourhood feels very different from the city centre. My commute is a bit longer, but after testing the many routes into London (train, bus, tube, ferry(!)), I found my optimal tube-route from North Greenwich, which on average takes me to LSE in about 40 minutes. I can definitely live with that.

Now, let me show you my neighbourhood in Greenwich.

  1. Greenwich park

Greenwich Park

About 10 minutes from where I live, you can find Greenwich park. Being a Norwegian, I am used to being surrounded by nature – and I often seek out the park to get my share of green (and the great view of the concrete jungle in Canary Wharf). The park holds a lot of surprises. Only a few weeks ago I was made aware of a flock of deer wandering in a more hidden corner of the park. In the middle lies Greenwich royal observatory, that has played a significant role in the history of astronomy and navigation. It is best known for the location of the ‘prime meridian’ – Greenwich meantime.

  1. Greenwich market
Greenwich Market. Photo credit: VisitGreenwich

I pop down here at least one Saturday every month, to have a snack from the international food-market or to browse through art, toys, clothes and other oddities.

  1. Waterstones

Waterstones Greenwich

Not only in Greenwich, but this one is my favourite. I’m suffering from the book-buyers disease, which means that any bookshop is dangerous territory for me – Waterstones is like walking into heaven. They have a café on the second floor that I go if I need a change of scenery. They also host evenings with local writers from the area.

  1. Blackheath

Blackheath

Walking through Greenwich park, you will end up looking over a huge heath and suddenly you’ll think you’re in the English countryside. This tiny little centre holds most of my favourite restaurants, pubs and shops. The best steak I have ever had is from Buenos Aires Café, where they serve (you guessed correctly) Argentinian food.

  1. The Thames foot-tunnel

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

I had no idea that it existed, but it is actually possible to walk under the Thames. If you look carefully, you will see two of these buildings on each side of the river. They take you deep down, under the river, and up on the other side.

In conclusion: there is a world beyond zone 2 (tube-zones, for those who wonder). It doesn’t look like the London you’ve seen before, but that’s where the fun begins.

About the author

Siri Arntzen

A 28-year old self-proclaimed nerd on the fields of places, photography and sports. Currently studying the MSc Local Economic Development here at LSE. Brought up in a tiny fishing village in the Lofoten archipelago in Norway, seeing the world from London’s perspective!

Posted In: London life

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