While the Painted Hall will have to remain shut, the rest of the Old Royal Naval College is planning a range of outdoor events to lure people back to Greenwich.
Although you can walk through the main road in the ORNC at the moment, the main grounds of the site will reopen from 12th April.
Guided tours will run four times daily showing off the grounds and exteriors of our Sir Christopher Wren-designed buildings. Guided tours will be limited to 5 people and must be pre-booked. Visitors can also take part in any of the three free self-guided tours of the Old Royal Naval College on the Smartify app.
The Building Detectives tour takes families on a treasure trail around the outdoor spaces, allowing children to enjoy some time learning about their local history outside. The architecture tour takes visitors on a journey around the outside of the domed buildings, and the Greenwich Pensioners Tour, launching in April, will allow users to follow in the footsteps of the former naval officers and mariners who lived here.
The Old Brewery is resuming outdoor service from 12th April, and is taking bookings on their website. In addition, pop-up food stalls will operate on the King William Lawn every weekend.
The gift shops, in the Visitor Centre and King William Undercroft, will also be reopening from 12th April, which is a reminder of the oddity that the shop can reopen, but the “museum” above it has to remain closed for another month.
Events will be subject to government Covid-19 restrictions.
Our family used to love going to the observatory on the little train and then it suddenly stopped. Visitors,especially the old,infirm, pregnant and children would willingly pay a return of 2 pounds when able to open again.
With international tourism still a while away then this summer could be the time to visit places like this which you often last saw on a school tour many decades ago.
While coach operators will need to get their business up and running and therefore trips to locations like this could replace some of the foreign tourists in 2021 .