在泰吾士河下漫步Strolling beneath the Thames

Everyone has heard of GMT Greenwich Mean Time and that it is in the UK. Greenwich is a very nice village about ten minutes train journey away from London Bridge station, and is well worth a visit if you haven’t been before. If you have, you have most likely been to the Royal observatory, taken a photo on the GMT line, visited the National Maritime, strolled around the historical market and seen the Cutty Sark.  Well I have one more recommendation which may make a repeat trip worthwhile.

相信大家都聽過英國的GMT格林威治標準時間。其實格林威治是一個非常漂亮的地區，距離倫敦橋火車站約十分鐘車程，是很值得一去的旅遊點。若你曾到訪過，可能去過皇家天文台，踏在GMT線上拍照，參觀過國家海事博覽館，再到歷史悠久的格林威治市集漫步，然後去欣賞著名的Cutty Sark。現在我有一個好建議可能會吸引你重遊這優雅的小社區。

Nearby Cutty Sark is a glass top dome structure which leads you down to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which has been in use since 1902. In the old days, many docks and shipyards were located  north of the river and the workers living on the south had to catch a ferry to get into work.  However, the high cost of travelling, the distant, and the infamous London foggy weather often made the journey quite unreliable. So a tunnel was built at the turn of the century as an alternative and reliable way for the dock workers to get into work.

在Cutty Sark 附近有一座受國家二級保護，頂上蓋著玻璃穹頂的建築物。它就是建於1902年，可橫越泰晤士河的格林威治行人隧道的入口。過往居住在河南面的工人需要乘渡輪到北面的碼頭和船廠工作。可是，高昂的費用和倫敦的大霧往往使旅程變得很麻煩。因此，政府在上世紀末就計劃建造這條行人隧道讓碼頭工人有一個更方便和安全的方法上班。

 

There are about 100 steps down the spiral staircase leading you into the tunnel. As you walk along the 3 meter wide tunnel you may find it to be a bit claustrophobic especially when you know you are some 15 meters beneath the Thames and that the tunnel has been in use since 1902!  My experience was more of fascination and in awe of the great British engineering from many years ago.

Once you arrive at Island Garden at the other end you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Greenwich.  From there, you can catch the DLR back into central London, stopping en route to visit Canary Wharf – one of the two major financial centres in London.

 

從入口裡的螺旋樓梯往下走大約100步就會到隧道囗。當你沿著這只有3米寬的隧道步行時而前面只看到370米漫漫長路，有些人可能會覺得有些恐懼。再加上當你想到隧道一直自1902年沿用至今，甚至可能有些擔心！我當時的感覺卻很不一樣。望著隧道裏鋪滿白色的古舊瓷磚，我心裡對大英城帝國當年的偉大工程感到敬畏萬分。

行人隧道另一端是河北面的Island Garden, 回頭就可見到隔河格林威治的美麗景色。從那裡，你可以轉搭DLR去參觀倫敦兩大金融中心之一的 金絲雀碼頭 ，然後才回到倫敦市中心。

 

Cutty Sark and the entrance to Greenwich Foot Tunnel
(David Hawgood) / CC BY-SA 2.0

 

Nearby Cutty Sark is a glass top dome structure which leads you down to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which has been in use since 1902. In the old days, many docks and shipyards were located  north of the river and the workers living on the south had to catch a ferry to get into work.  However, the high cost of travelling, the distant, and the infamous London foggy weather often made the journey quite unreliable. So a tunnel was built at the turn of the century as an alternative and reliable way for the dock workers to get into work.