A Greenwich Park Goodbye

By Emily Albers

As our time in London neared its end and our last full day arrived, I wanted to give this magnificent city the sendoff it deserved. So I hopped on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) and made my way to Greenwich, home of Greenwich Park and its stunning views of the London skyline. Because it was a Saturday, Greenwich’s town square was absolutely heaving with people and it took a lot of squeezing, dodging, and apologizing to make my way through it. But despite the crowds, it was a cute, quintessentially English town that would make for a very enjoyable visit on a weekday.

A large iron gate and connecting fence separated the park from the rest of Greenwich, and the open grassy field I was met with was a welcomed change from the congestion of the town proper. I made my way across the field until the path I was on began to slope upward. The entrance to the park lies at the bottom of a giant hill, so in order to feast your kicking footballs around with their kids, friends laughing and chatting…everywhere you looked, there was joy.

One of the perks of being in public places by yourself is that you’re more attuned to other people’s conversations and activities. I walked by a woman telling her old Cocker Spaniel who was wandering toward a muddy puddle that she wasn’t going to chase after him because she was wearing the wrong shoes. I saw a father teaching his son how to ride a bike; the perfect place given the wideness and gradual incline of the path - or decline in their case. The boy’s squeals of joy and his father’s shouts of encouragement became the wonderful soundtrack to the rest of my walk.

I was sweaty and hungry by the time I reached the top, but my discomfort vanished the moment the London skyline came into view. What I saw was something I’d only ever seen on a postcard, and it was more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined. I could see the City of eyes on those famous views, you have to earn it by trekking to the Royal Observatory at the top. It was quite a workout for an out-of-shape American like myself, but I was so captivated by the beauty and liveliness around me that I hardly noticed.

It was a lovely afternoon, if a bit cloudy, and everyone was out and about. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes chasing and fetching and bounding all over the place, happy as can be. None of them were leashed but they all seemed exceptionally well behaved; they came when they were called and never got too rowdy when playing. Some of the less-coordinated puppies - in hot pursuit of a ball or Frisbee - would sometimes bump into people, but most found it more amusing than annoying. There were families having picnics on checkered blankets, couples holding hands as they walked along, parents

London to the East and all the way to the O2 in the West. Below me was the open expanse of grass and trees that I’d just come from, which stretched out to the National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House, and beyond them, Greenwich Hospital. I could see a glimpse of the Thames and the Isle of Dogs with the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf front and center to the North. I stood there frozen in awe for a moment before a growl from my stomach reminded me how hungry I was. I reached into my backpack and retrieved the sandwich, crisps, and bottle of water I’d bought from M&S a couple hours prior.

I tried to commit every detail of my surroundings to memory while I ate my lunch. I could see that it was raining in the City of London, an isolated shower was obscuring the buildings in a gray mist. Everywhere else was dry, however, so I took some photos of those areas after I’d finished eating. There were quite a few people there, but the viewing platform was large enough so that everyone had their own space.

As I was snapping pictures, I noticed the rain had slowly made its way from the City of London to Canary Wharf. It seemed to pause there, perhaps deciding if it wanted to head South and spoil our view. It must’ve been a particularly pitiless rain cloud because within minutes, raindrops began to fall over Greenwich Park. It wasn’t a downpour, but it reduced the visibility of the buildings enough to make them difficult to photograph. I’d taken all the photos I’d wanted to take, but I hadn’t said my goodbyes to the city yet and now it seemed I wouldn’t be able to since I could hardly see it anymore. It wasn’t a huge deal though and I decided that staying dry was a bigger priority. I started to gather up my things to leave when I noticed that none of my fellow sightseers were doing the same. They simply opened their umbrellas, held them over their human and canine companions alike, and continued to stare off into the distance.

No sooner had I decided that I would stay too, the clouds parted over Canary Wharf and the sun shone through. The wet buildings glistened in the sunlight, almost as if they were made of glass. The rain hadn’t let up in Greenwich yet so everyone remained under their umbrellas. There was something about the whole scene that moved me, and I knew I needed to get a photo of it immediately. There was a statue of James Wolfe, the general who secured Canada for the British during the Seven Years War, in the middle of the viewing platform with stairs leading up to it. I climbed to the top for a better vantage point. It took me a few tries but I finally got a photo that captured the feeling of the moment pretty well. By this point, the rain had stopped and I was able to sit back down and take one last gander of the city.

I know it’s weirdly sentimental, but London is like a friend to me and every time I leave it, I feel it deserves a goodbye. This time though, it was more of a thank you. A thank you to the city for a week of wonderful memories, and to my fellow sight-seers for being so delightfully English that I was able to create, and photograph, one final one.

The sight made me smile to myself; this was English stoicism at its finest. They were totally unbothered, and I loved them for it.