Whenever I go to Greenwich, I usually just go to the places of interest like Odeon cinema, Charlton shopping centre, or the O2. I never really thought to get off the bus and explore the places we drove past in the Greenwich area, until Tuesday. My friend Georgina and I decided to jump on the 486 bus going to North Greenwich and unravel the mystery of a place the bus always drives past before getting to North Greenwich (another name for it is the O2). It was a place we always referred to as the colourful flats but never knew the name of. It was Tuesday that Georgina and I discovered the name of this mysterious area, that looked like it was in the middle of nowhere - and that place is called the Millennium Village.

The 486 bus Georgina and I were on.

Odeon Cinema in Greenwich, a place I often go to.

Millenium Village

When we got to Millennium Village, we explored the area and discovered new things about it that we wouldn’t have if hadn’t gotten off. Millennium Village is a nice little colourful area that has some lovely local shops. The area is relatively new (built in 2010) and surprisingly, it has kept its fresh new look. The village is on the southern banks of the River Thames, which is noticeable due to the different little bridges going over the water. There is a primary school, a playground, and a Medical GP surgery. So when we looked around this is what caught our eye.

Ducks in the River

Dying leaves

Me at the pier

At the playground

From there we decided to walk to the O2 as it wasn’t far... 

The entrance of the O2

Inside the O2 there are quite a few things. It has a lot of restaurants, such as TGI Friday’s, Frankie and Benny’s, and Cheyenne Spur Steak and Grill. People go there for concerts, either in the O2 arena (where the gymnastic Olympic Games were held) or the Indigo. There is a cinema and different clubs.

Inside the O2

As it was cold outside, we finished our journey with some nice hot chocolate from Starbucks.

Hot Chocolate with whipped cream - Yum

I feel like we kind of limit ourselves to the places we are comfortable and familiar with.  All the places I thought I knew, do I actually? You should go and explore your local area and see if you can discover something that you didn’t know was there before!

Nadia Adusei-Boateng is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program.

All photos courtesy and copyright Georgina Tewogbade.