Way back in the 1960’s, a famous pop group from Liverpool once wrote ‘roll up – roll up for the mystery tour’……
Well, 36 OAS members and guests did just that and rolled up in Petts Wood with anticipation of our own Mystery tour- our very comfortable coach and excellent driver Karl arrived on time and we all boarded the coach and off we went.
The tour was created by our OAS president, Greg Smye-Rumsby, who spent hours researching the history of each of the twenty-two places of astronomical history that we would pass by and in some cases stop at to view.
The first stop was not far away in Hayes, Bromley where Thomas John Hussey a Clergyman and keen astronomer established an observatory at his Rectory – he had three significant telescopes in use – of course Thomas and his telescopes are long gone but the buildings remain.
From there we passed the site where Wray Optics where previously located in Bromley, then to Crystal Palace to discover how the original 1851 Great Exhibition building constructed in Hyde Park was later moved next to Sydenham Hill and later renamed Crystal Palace.
Next was going through Norwood, and Tulse Hill to learn about Dr William Steavenson and his 15-inch refracting telescope in his back garden and also Sir William Huggins and Lady Huggins and their private observatory.
We then arrived in Wandsworth and got off the coach to stretch our legs and view the site where the Craig telescope once stood – the telescope was mounted on the side of a tall brick-built tower back in 1851.
Leaving South London now and over Wandsworth Bridge into Kensington to visit two places of interest including the aptly named- Observatory Gardens, now we were heading due East towards Baker Street and the site of the London Planetarium and then past Regents Park where George Russell Hind used George Bishop’s observatory with its seven-inch refracting telescope.
Next into the City of London to view the building where Fuller Scopes (Telescope House) operated from, the building is now a flower shop – just before this though we parked up near Chancery Lane for our driver to have a well-earned break from driving for a while and most of us found a nearby Coffee place for refreshments.
We were now over half way through the tour and we soon passed by astronomical historical sites such as St Paul’s Cathedral and The Monument. Then back south of the river to the site on the South Bank where the Dome of Discovery was situated during the Festival of Britain in 1951.
We were now on the way back going past Denmark Hill, Walworth and three places in Blackheath where important people lived and worked in the field of astronomy.
We stopped at St Margaret’s Church graveyard near Blackheath where Sir Edmond Halley (Halley’s Comet fame) is buried with his Wife and Daughters in the same tomb.
Our final place of interest was Hither Green Railway station where the Prime Meridian runs through – and running across the ceiling of the walkway tunnel there is a plaque that indicates the exact location of the Prime Meridian.
There were volunteers on the coach who gave an interesting talk about each of the twenty-two astronomical places of interest that we passed by or stopped at, and all attendees were later given a pdf sheet via email that had information on each place of interest.
Our coach driver Karl, was not just good company and humorous but also an exceptional driver, we definitely needed an expert driver to maneuver the large coach along some narrow roads and tight turns in the roads.
In total we covered just over 66 miles on our Mystery tour driving around London and by the time we arrived back at Petts Wood the Sun had set and it was dark, feeling a bit tired after a long day travelling, but in the knowledge that all on board had a very interesting and enjoyable day.
Prepared by Dave Allen