Along the River Thames

After our adventures at the Greenwich Royal Observatory, we walked down the hill, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and purchased water taxi tickets to get back to central London. On our way to the water taxi, we walked past the Cutty Sark, a British clipper ship built in 1863, that used to sail to and from China, picking up and delivering tea to England. 

When the Suez Canal opened (later in 1863), the route became much faster for steam ships, so the Cutty Sark turned towards Australia and the wool trade after a few years. The tall ship is open to visitors, but alas, we wanted to focus on other items this particular day. 

Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark with sails unfurled - PHOTO FROM WIKIPEDIA

We then boarded a much, much younger powered vessel and made our way towards central London. I have been lucky enough to see the Tower Bridge several times now, but seeing it from the River Thames was quite a site! 

Tower Bridge 

We hopped off the water taxi, and made our way via the London Tube to the British Library, which was currently showcasing a special exhibit of the Magna Carta and other governmental documents it inspired. The Magna Carta was first written to keep King John (coronated in 1199) in check. Apparently, he was a right mean old bugger and would tax and execute with reckless abandon. The Magna Carta set up rules that the ruler had to live by, such as making sure someone accused of a crime actually stood trial before being executed (or thrown in jail), and other such things. The root of the Magna Carta, is as follows:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or be exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.  

To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.  

As you may be able to tell, core parts of the US government very much mirrors the sentiment in the Magna Carta. In fact, they had on display Thomas Jefferson's hand-written copy of the Declaration of Independence and Delaware's copy of the Bill of Rights. Pretty amazing stuff, right? 

Before we left, we decided to pop into the room labeled Library Treasures, and boy are we glad we did!! They had hand-written music sheets from Beethoven, Chopin, The Beatles. They had bibles and other religious texts that dated back 1,500 years or more. They had Jane Austin's writing desk. They had a hand-written letter by Anne Bolyn. I could go on and on, but you get the point. 

The British Library is just a 5 minute walk from King's Cross / St. Pancras station - If you ever find yourself in London, go! It's free to get in (the Magna Carta exhibit is extra and will be there through October) and it is a great way to spend a half an hour or so. Keep in mind, though, if you're killing time before your train leaves, large luggage cannot be taken in to the library.