When we got there,though, the greenhouse doesn't actually look that bad, and it's really quite interesting to be able to see clearly just how much ship is underwater (and to be able to walk right underneath the copper covered hull).
You enter through the gift shop, and a walkway to a doorway in the side of the hull - and they have packed such a lot of good things in there. There are displays on the walls, and tea chests everywhere; you can listen to the thoughts of a Shanghai docker loading the ship with tea, or one of the crew, and try to beat the Captain's record 74 day trip back from Australia (carrying wool) on an interactive map with a ship's wheel (Mark did it in 106 days).
The man who was captain for around 20 years seemed to be an interesting chap, too. Not only did he learn to ride a bike on the between decks, and roller skate there, but he also bred prize winning collie dogs while he was at sea!
Here I am at the wheel.
Underneath the ship at the stern is the cafe, and at the bows there is the Long John Silver collection of ship's figureheads, the largest collection in the world! And again there are interactive displays about the rebuilding of the ship, and what was happening in the world when she was sailing, and so on.
It really was great fun, and beautifully set out - and well worth £12.
After that, of course, there was only one thing we could do - the Meantime pub and brewery was only a short walk away, so we retired to the bar for some liquid refreshment. They also have a lovely walled garden, with rambling roses. While we were there, there was a beer tasting session going on in one corner.
On the bus to Greenwich, we passed a barber's shop ("Asian and European") which also sold fireworks, which I thought was an interesting pairing. The following day, when we visited Borough Market, we noticed another barber's shop, Hobbs, and across the way from that was Hobbs butcher's shop. Could this be a trend in barbers having a sideline which is completely unrelated to hair?
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