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Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

Highlight • Historical Site

Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

Recommended by 137 hikers out of 139

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Maritime Greenwich

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Location: London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

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Best Hikes to Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

4.7

(3)

hikers

1. Greenwich Park, Shooters Hill & Eltham Palace loop from Blackheath - Maritime Greenwich

24.7km

06:27

180m

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Hard

4.8

(8)

124

hikers

2. Old Royal Naval College – Cutty Sark loop from East Greenwich

10.4km

02:43

80m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

5.0

(3)

hikers

3. Royal Observatory Greenwich – Cutty Sark loop from South Quay

8.96km

02:20

60m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

Tips

T1pkp

December 25, 2020

The prime meridian was first established by Sir George Airy in 1851, and by 1884, over two-thirds of all ships and tonnage used it as the reference meridian on their charts and maps. In the same year, a conference with delegates from 25 states selected the meridian as the official prime meridian. France did not participate in the vote and continued to use the Paris meridian for several decades.

JakobusPilger

July 10, 2023

The "invention" of the prime meridian - more precisely formulated the division of the globe into degrees of longitude and latitude, with the prime meridian running here as the central reference point - was an epochal masterpiece in the field of cartography and navigation, at that time mainly for seafaring. Even today, in the age of modern GPS navigation based on satellites orbiting the earth, the coordinates based on this principle are still used for location determination.

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Wolf Beyenburg

April 7, 2024

An important historical reference point. The current prime meridian can be found about 100 meters further west in the park. We recommend using your smartphone's GPS to find it. Here you can stand with one foot in the west and the other in the east, play west-east tug-of-war or finger wrestling, completely free of charge, and enjoy the wonderful view. A picnic blanket and, of course, a picnic are highly recommended.

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Details

Informations

Elevation 60 m

Weather

Today

Tuesday 13 January

11°C

6°C

94 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 22.0 km/h

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See hikes here

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Location: London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

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Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

1. Greenwich Park, Shooters Hill & Eltham Palace loop from Blackheath - Maritime Greenwich

2. Old Royal Naval College – Cutty Sark loop from East Greenwich

3. Royal Observatory Greenwich – Cutty Sark loop from South Quay

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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