![]() |
The entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel at Greenwich. |
![]() |
The Greenwich foot tunnel. |
Welcome to my blog that chronicles my walks, visits, discoveries, memories, photographs and history of London The Unfinished City.
![]() |
The entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel at Greenwich. |
![]() |
The Greenwich foot tunnel. |
With Covid-19 and the various lockdowns putting a pause on my walks with friends, around The Unfinished City, it is great to be able to start them up again.
Saturday April 2, 2022
After a breakfast of Pulled Pork Burger with apple sauce and sage & onion stuffing, from Hobbs in Borough Market, my friend Stephen and I began our first walk of 2022.
![]() |
Borough Market is a food lovers paradise. |
Tower Bridge and the Girl with a Dolphin. |
![]() |
'Monolith' by Arthur Fleischmann. |
![]() |
Our first drink in London together for a number of years. |
![]() |
The Grapes is a narrow pub on Narrow Street. |
With bellies full and plenty of photographs of the various 'Lord of the Rings' memorabilia taken, we continued along Narrow Street and rejoined the Thames Path, which took us to the Isle of Dogs.
![]() |
Looking towards The Shard, from where our walk had begun. |
We continued along the Thames Path until we joined Westferry Road, in search of a watering hole. Fortunately, we discovered The Ship just as the Heavens opened and rain, sleet and snow cascaded from the sky for ten solid minutes.
![]() |
The Space Theatre and Bar |
Once hydrated we rejoined the Thames Path and discovered the launch ramp for the SS Great Eastern, something that I had wanted to see for many years. The SS Great Eastern was the largest ship in the world, at the time of its construction in 1858.
![]() |
Preserved for Posterity. |
Continuing along the Thames Path we discovered The Ferry House pub, which, it turns out, is the oldest pub on the Isle of Dogs. As it was a historic pub and been serving the locals since 1722 we had to enter.
![]() |
The oldest pub on the Isle of Dogs. |
From here the Thames Path took us to Island Gardens, a 3-acre park which also houses the north entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. A short conversation ensued as to whether to stick to our route or use the tunnel and walk along the south bank. The latter won out, so we descended the 87 steps and started the 370-metre walk, 15 metres below the River Thames, to the south entrance and its 100 steps up to the surface.
![]() |
The Greenwich foot tunnel, looking north. |
Emerging into the late spring afternoon sun, with the sounds of a carousel, the smells of street food and the sight of the historic Cutty Sark made for a magical moment.
![]() |
The historic Cutty Sark. |
Deciding to make the most of the afternoon we turned westward and made our way along the river, crossing Deptford Creek via the Greenwich Reach Swing Bridge, until we reached Deptford. One of the first statues we spotted was of Peter the Great, who studied shipbuilding here in 1698.
![]() |
A statue of Peter the Great. |
It was as this point that we thought that a drink on the south side of the River Thames was in order, so we stopped at The Dog and Bell, which was perhaps the busiest London pub that we had visited... ever.
![]() |
The Dog and Bell entrance. |
With the evening drawing in we continued our journey towards Surrey Quays station, but were shocked to discover that we had reached The Black Horse pub. Now, a few years ago Stephen, Gary and myself had attempted to walk the south bank from Borough Market to Greenwich, but we only made it as far as The Black Horse pub. Realising that, in a way, we had completed a full circle Stephen and I stepped inside to celebrate, making sure to also call Gary to let him know of our achievement.
![]() |
A wonderful selection from which to celebrate. |
Suitably pleased with ourselves we continued our journey to Surrey Quays station and headed for home, having completed almost 11 miles of walking in 8 hours.
It is so much more enjoyable walking through London with friends, than it is by oneself, that I can't wait to see what we can discover and learn, before it is lost forever, on our next walk.
![]() |
SS Great Eastern launching chains |
It had long been one of my ideas to walk along the Thames Path around the Isle of Dogs, to take in the historic aspects of the area.
And so, having left Borough Market and crossed the River Thames via Tower Bridge, I made my way through St Katharine Docks to Wapping and on to Limehouse, before finally making it to the Isle of Dogs.
Much of the area around West India Docks, which became disused in the 1980s, were redeveloped between the late 1980s and the 1990s, and became the second financial district for London, commonly known as Canary Wharf.
Continuing on my walk I finally reached one of the most historic places on the Isle of Dogs... Napier Yard and the launch ramp of the SS Great Eastern.
![]() |
SS Great Eastern launch ramp. |
![]() |
Preserved for Posterity. |
![]() |
Gainsborough Pictures |
Wandering east along the Regent's Canal, from Angel, I soon found myself in Shoreditch Park.
![]() |
Commemorative Plaque. |
To the north of the park are the old Gainsborough Pictures film studios, which were converted to apartments in 2004.
![]() |
Film Reel sculpture. |
There is a sculpture of a film reel, in Shoreditch Park, and a giant sculpture of Alfred Hitchcock's head within the grounds of the apartments, which, unfortunately, I wasn't able to access on this visit.