Walking with friends: Bethnal Green to Spitalfields... and beyond

Saturday May 24, 2025.

When friends wish to accompany me on a walk, in London, I have to work out a rough route that will take in some sites that will appeal to everyone. As friends all have different backgrounds, interests and are of different ages, this can be a challenge.

However, I am always up for a challenge, so I set about planning a route that would encompass enough places of varied age to visit so that everyone would be satisfied.

I set off on the short walk to Watford Metropolitan station, where I met up with Steve, before boarding a Baker Street-bound train. Gary had made his way to Moor Park station and, with me calling him as we pulled in, joined us for the trip.

Alighting at Finchley Road we waited three minutes for an Aldgate-bound train, which we rode until Liverpool Street, where we took a Central line train the one stop to Bethnal Green.

On exiting the station we headed up Cambridge Heath Road and entered the Young V&A Museum. I had picked this particular place as we had all been children, once, and I knew that we would all see some things from our childhood. Besides, I hadn't been here in almost 8 years, during which time it had undergone a major refurbishment.

Passing through the reception, with its gift shop, we entered the main hall, heading to the first gallery on our left. Tin toys, railway sets, movie merchandise toys and posters, Christopher Reeve's costume from Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, toys from television series and so much more.

Then there was a dimly-lit room full of dolls houses, all lit up with tiny lights from within.

The War Horse puppet, a suit of Samurai armour, models, more toys, giant dolls houses that a child could easily fit inside, books and more.

A stage area allowed children to dress up and act out scenes, while a glass fronted cabinet held Boris Karloff's costume from 'The Bride of Frankenstein', while others contained Kabuki masks and more recent mass-produced masks.

A room, with a black and white floor, with pink walls, created the illusion, if you stood in the right place, of a person shrinking in one corner, while being unable to fully stand in another corner.

The Design Gallery showed how things were designed and manufactured, while another gallery showcased board games, cards and gaming consoles.

We explored the entire building and its exhibits, before making our way outside, after making a donation to the museum.

From here we continued up Cambridge Heath Road, before turning west down Hackney Road. As is common for this area of London, many old houses are sandwiched between new builds, while 'ghost signs' still advertise products and companies that no longer exist.  We continued heading west, before turning south, on Horatio Street, which brought us to Ezra Street. Ezra Street, and nearby Barnet Grove, are wonderfully preserved Georgian streets, some of which were used in the 1990 movie 'The Krays', standing in for Vallance Road, where the Krays childhood home was.

At the corner of Ezra Street and Columbia Road stands the Royal Oak, which, fortuitously, was open. So, in we went. It is a wonderful pub, full of history and retains much of its 1923 upgrades. Because  of its location and style, the Royal Oak has been used in numerous television series, like 'Goodnight Sweetheart' (1993-1999), and films such as 'The Krays' (1990), 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' (1998) and 'Legend' (2015).

Suitably refreshed we left this wonderful pub and headed along Columbia Road and turned down Barnet Grove, until we reached Bethnal Green Road. Feeling peckish we stopped for some lunch, which was filling, before continuing along Bethnal Green Road, stopping to stare at the phenomenally long queue outside 'E. Pellicci's'. 'E. Pellicci's' was where Ronnie and Reggie Kray ate breakfast, nearly everyday, and has become even more popular with tourists.

Turning around we crossed Bethnal Green Road and spotted the 'Marquis of Cornwallis' pub, so we went in for some refreshments. What a contrast it was. Its outside appearance looked rundown, with paint flaking from the walls and the lettering on the name almost completely vanished. Yet, inside, it was modern, with panelled wood and countless televisions showing different sports.

On leaving the 'Marquis of Cornwallis' we headed south along Vallance Road, passing Weavers Fields, stopping to take a photo of the buildings that now occupy the place where Ronnie and Reggie Kray had their childhood home.

From here we headed along Dunbridge Street and saw the Bethnal Green Bath House and, to its left, Repton Boxing Club, where the Kray brothers used to box. Dunbridge Street brought us to Cheshire Street and the next stop on our journey; 'The Carpenter's Arms'. 

This pub, built in 1871, is a wonderful little place. The small bar leads through to a small seating area and then into a small outside seating area. The walls are covered in framed photos of London Transport photos and maps, Repton Boxing Club, Truman Brewery photos and advertisements and more. Other framed black and white photos show some of the regulars enjoying drinks and having parties. Then there is a photo of Ronnie and Reggie. This pub was purchased by them, in 1967, as a gift to their mother, Violet. It was from offices upstairs that business meetings took place. It was also here, on October 29, 1967, that Reggie Kray had a drink to calm his nerves, before heading off to murder Jack 'The Hat' McVitie.

Once we had finished our drinks we continued along Cheshire Street and then turned south, down Brick Lane, passing the Truman Brewery and then Hanbury Street, where Annie Chapman was murdered by Jack the Ripper. Eventually we reached Fashion Street with its Moorish style market building that, when it opened, was a financial disaster. Some of the space was taken over by G Scammell and Nephew, who were wheelwrights. It was here that Scammell Lorries had their beginning. 

Finding ourselves on Commercial Street we headed north and entered the 'Ten Bells' pub. This historic Grade II listed pub, with its tile-lined walls and central bar, was wonderful to visit. It also has a history relating to Jack the Ripper. For it is believed that Annie Chapman and Mary Jane Kelly, both victims of Jack the Ripper, drank here on the night of their murders.

Finishing our drinks we crossed Commercial Street and headed along Brushfield Street, passing the massive building that now covers the murder site of the aforementioned Mary Jane Kelly, before we found ourselves confronted by the Matriarch of the 'Herd of Hope'. This life-sized elephant, plus the twenty smaller ones, were created by Gillie and Marc Schattner as a way to highlight endangered animals.

Brushfield Street brought us to Bishopsgate, where we stopped to use the facilities at 'Dirty Dicks', and also to have some refreshments. This pub, in the City of London, seems out of place, with its wooden beams, flagstone floor and seating style and would seem much more at home nearer to the River Thames. 'Dirty Dicks' is named after Nathaniel Bentley. Bentley had been a wealthy gentleman who had attended the coronation of Louis XVI, of France, and was "identified as the best dressed and mannered English gentleman" at the French court. However, in his thirties, he began to let his appearance slide, refusing to wash or bathe, and mending his clothes until they were no longer fit for purpose. He refused to clean his shop, with the windows becoming covered in grime, while his wares were caked in dust. Throughout all of this his manners remained as he greeted his patrons, who now visited just to see how filthy he had become.

Refreshed once more we headed out into the afternoon sun and continued along Gracechurch Street, dodging the Harry Potter fans who were busy taking photos in Leadenhall Market, before we entered 'The Crosse Keys' pub. This giant building, once a bank, is now a J D Wetherspoon pub, which Steve and I had visited before, when he had written and directed a show at the 'London Theatre Workshop', near Leadenhall Market.

With time getting on we left 'The Crosse Keys' and continued down Gracechurch Street, heading for Monument station. However, as we neared Talbot Court we noticed that 'The Ship' public house was open. We had never seen it open and, taking it as a sign, wandered inside. This small 17th century pub was wonderful to finally visit. After a good look around we sat outside, with our drinks, and spoke about the day and what we had seen.

It would have probably been far simpler to walk to a Metropolitan line station, such as Liverpool Street or Moorgate, but we simply headed into the bowels of Monument station and caught a Circle line train back to Baker Street. One last drink, at the Metropolitan Bar, was had before we purchased food and caught a train for home,

Arriving at Watford I bumped into an old friend who kindly gave us a lift home.

All-in-all it was yet another great day out, visiting new places and discovering some fascinating places and a lot of history.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles
• Car - 1 mile
• DLR - 0.0 miles
• Ferry - 0.0 miles
• Overground - 0.0 miles
• River Boat - 0.0 miles
• Taxi - 0.0 miles
• Train - 0.0 miles
• Underground - 44 miles
• Walking - 5 miles