Walking alone: Farringdon to Tower Hill... and beyond

St George-in-the-East church.

Monday December 8, 2025.

Today was my last day of annual leave, for 2025, and I wasn't going to waste it. So, off to London I headed.

Farringdon station.

A short walk to Watford underground station saw me catch a Baker Street-bound train, which I took to Finchley Road, where I waited 3-minutes for an Aldgate-bound train. Soon I was alighting at Farringdon station, ready for a walk.

Holborn viaduct.

I headed down Farringdon Road and onto Farringdon Street, passing below the Holborn Viaduct, crossed Fleet Street, and joined New Bridge Street, before heading west along Tudor Street. With lots of building work going on I took a slight detour up Bouverie Street and entered Magpie Alley. 

Magpie Alley tiles.

The tiled walls of Magpie Alley, which I had never seen, tell the history of Fleet Street's printing evolution from around 1500. Suitably filled with new knowledge I made my way out of Magpie Alley, avoiding the scaffolding and myriad trucks and lorries that filled the streets, and made my way down Whitefriars Street until I reached Tudor Street, again. This time I headed east and rejoined New Bridge Street, which I followed north until I turned east along Ludgate Hill.

How many street names in one photo?

Ludgate Hill brought me to St Paul's Churchyard and one of London's unique thoroughfares... Peter's Hill. Now, Peter's Hill has, over the centuries, moved as the area has gone through rebuilding. Now, it shares its route with Sermon Lane and Knightrider Court, which has moved from its original position to the east of Sermon Lane, to the west of it. And, depending on which online map you use, this thoroughfare is listed under different names. Confusing.

The St Lawrence Jewry drinking fountain.

Suitably confused I continued east onto Cannon Street, passing the St Lawrence Jewry drinking fountain, before turning up Queen Victoria Street, just so that I could walk through the Bloomberg Arcade and see 'Forgotten Stream' by Cristina Iglesias. 

The oldest church in the City of London.

I then rejoined Cannon Street until I reached Eastcheap. Following my feet I continued along Eastcheap until I reached Byward Street and All Hallows by the Tower. Now, All Hallows by the Tower is the oldest church in the City of London and I have walked by it on countless occasions, but never ventured inside. So, I remedied this error, on my part, and entered this ancient building.

As I entered a couple were just leaving, which, to my surprise, left me alone in the church, apart from a few volunteers who were replacing leaflets and checking the aisles.

The Lady chapel.

I set about exploring and was taken in awe with how incredible the interior was. My footsteps echoed off the flagstone flooring as I made my way through the building taking in the chapels and artefacts on display. Making my way through the door, below the organ, I noticed the Saxon arch and a sign 

indicating the directions to the Undercroft Museum, which I followed. 

The Undercroft chapel.

I carefully made my way below the church and was soon at the Roman street level of Londinium, with a tessellated floor still in place. Slowly I explored the entire space with its Roman, Saxon, Norman and countless other eras of artefacts all on display. More chapels were visited, before the route brought me back up into the church. Having explored as much as I could I headed outside to find that it had rained while I had been inside.

St George-in-the-East church, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor.

I made way around Tower Hill, spotting some Liberty Boundary markers, and headed east along East Smithfield. East Smithfield brought me on to The Highway, where I passed the location of the first of the Ratcliff Highway murders, before reaching Nicholas Hawksmoor's St George-in-the-East church. Here I explored the gardens and took plenty of photographs of this unique church which has been standing here since 1729. It has been used in countless films and TV series and was a place that I had wanted to visit for a while.

The mortuary building.

In the east of St George's Gardens there is a forlorn single-storey building, with boarded windows and a collapsed roof. This was once a mortuary and was where the body of Elizabeth Stride, a victim of Jack the Ripper, was taken after her body was discovered in Berner Street on September 30, 1888. Her post-mortem examination was also performed here.

The last resting place of a suicide victim.

I left St George's Gardens and turned north up Cannon Street Road, until I reached the crossroads with Cable Street. It is at this crossroads, in 1811, that John Williams was buried. John Williams had been one of a number of suspects in the Ratcliff Highway Murders. Despite proclaiming his innocence he was to be out on trial, with barely any evidence against him. He ended up taking his own life, by hanging himself in his cell with his own scarf. The public and magistrates saw this as an act of guilt and, as was the custom at the time, had him interred at the centre of the crossroads, with a stake through his chest. The stake would pin his soul and the crossroads would confuse the soul, keeping home trapped here forever. 

John Williams would be the last person to be buried in this manner, in the UK, as manner of burial was abolished by the government in 1823.

Turner's Old Star public house.

I turned and headed south along Cannon Street Road, crossed The Highway, and turned down Wapping Lane and passed Tobacco Dock and St Peter' Church London Docks, as I made my way towards the River Thames. As I reached Wapping Green I saw Turner's Old Star pub and decided to stop for some refreshment. I found the pub to be empty and so, after ordering a pint of Guinness, took a seat at one of the tables and looked through some of the photos that I had taken.

The view from the Captain Kidd public house.

Suitably refreshed I bade farewell to the barkeep and rejoined Wapping Lane. Wapping Lane brought me to Wapping High Street, which I followed west and entered the Captain Kidd pub. A pint of Stout was ordered, which I drank outside while looking out over the River Thames. The tide was in and the river looked dark, mirroring the leaden sky above.

Cinnabar Wharf is now private gardens.

On leaving the Captain Kidd I headed west along Wapping High Street, passing Cinnabar Wharf and Hermitage Hill, until I turned along St Katharine's Way and entered St Katharine Docks. Sticking to St Katharine's Way I made my way over Tower Hill and onto Mansell Street and, eventually, onto Aldgate High Street and my destination of Aldgate station.

On entering the station I made way down the steps and boarded a Chesham-bound train, which I took to Baker Street. Here I purchased some food and a Vanilla latte, before boarding a Watford-bound train for home.

There is something that keeps drawing me back to the East End. I don't know if it is the architecture, the history, the people or... something darker. Maybe its superstitions and folklore of this area, that has been a melting pot of beliefs, creeds, races and more for centuries.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles
• Car - 0.0 miles
• 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 - 41 miles
• Walking - 7 miles