'Land of Hope & Glory'

Day Trip to Woolwich Arsenal and Olympic Sites

Sunday 2 October 2011

We were blessed with a perfect day, weatherwise, for this day out. Setting off from Wycombe at a quarter to nine, with 53 expectant tourists on board, we headed for the historic Woolwich Arsenal where we were met by our Blue Badge Guide for the day, Carol, After a briefing on board the coach, we made our way to the Gun Pit Cafe for refreshments and a comfort break.

We then took our seats for the Fields of Fire presentation, a 10 minute film on the 4 big screens around the museum theatre complete with powerful sound effects and shaking floor. This was followed by a young serviceman who had recently returned from Afghanistan. This articulate young man spoke to us about his experiences and was keen to answer our questions, giving us an insight into his life as a serviceman.

There was then time, both before and after lunch, to visit the main galleries of this marvellous Military Museum. In the Medals Gallery, which proved popular with our party, the Medals were laid out below paintings or photographs of the recipients, together with a brief account of each one's story.

After lunch, back in the Gun Pit Cafe, we boarded the coach to check out the various Olympic Venues progress since our visit of last year. Firstly, we passed by the Woolwich Barracks, with the longest parade ground in the world, and which will be the backdrop for the Olympic shooting and equestrian events.

On our way to Stratford, we passed the ExCel London, which will host six fighting events, and the O2, which is to host the gymnastics and the basket ball events. We eventually arrived at the site of the main Olympic Park, with the Olympic Stadium in full view, the wavy roofed Aquatics Centre and the Velodrome, and the new (largest in Britain) piece of public art, the Orbit.

There were comments that there didn't appear to be a great deal of difference between what we saw last year and what we saw on this visit. Nonetheless, the Olympic Park was still most impressive, and, of course, we couldn't see inside the various stadia, and we know that they are now almost complete. What an achievement !

We learnt much from our Guide, Carol, particularly regarding the regeneration of this area of London and the legacy of the various sites after the games, including the fact that London is the first City in the World to host the Olympic Games three times !!

We finished our day with a cuppa and biscuits on board the 'Tereza Joane Boat' moored on the rejuvenated King George V Docks right next to the City of London Airport, and we were quite surprised at the size of aircraft that were using this short and narrow stretch of runway.

Many thanks are due to City & Village Tours, to their Blue Badge Guide, Carol, and to our first class coach driver from Woottens, Phil, for a steady and comfortable drive throughout.