Walking with family: Canada Water to Greenwich... and beyond

Wednesday August 19, 2026.

Cloudy start, turning sunny 25°C (77°F)

Thames Path (south side)

Uncle Martin picked Keilyn and I up, just after 09:20, and drove us to Croxley station. After parking the car we headed into the station and made our way to the southbound platform, from where we caught a Metropolitan line train to Harrow-on-the-Hill. Here we changed to an Aldgate-bound train that whisked us off to Finchley Road, where we boarded a West Ham-bound Jubilee line train to Canada Water.

Martin and I had visited this part of London back in July, when we had walked around the world, by walking through the old Surrey Commercial Docks. Today, we would be heading south along the River Thames, through Deptford towards Greenwich and onward from there.

We began by buying hot drinks from a coffee van in Deal Porter Square, before heading around Canada Water, via Maritime Street, to Surrey Quays Road. This brought us to Redriff Road and the Greenland Dock Bascule Bridge, from where our exploration would begin.

Walking along the western edge of Greenland Dock we spotted a heron, swans, a cormorant, moorhens, coots, and more that were not concerned with the children practising their sailing skills in yachts and boats of varying size close by. We followed the path and continued along the docks southern edge, heading towards the South Dock Marina. This is London's largest working marina. 

After looking at some of the boats we spotted a wire-mesh fish sculpture. This serves as a dedicated environmental art bin and has been deployed to encourage boat owners, residents, and visitors along the Thames path to responsibly recycle single-use plastic bottles, keeping the local waterways clear of litter. We then crossed the lock gates and joined the Thames Path, leaving Rotherhithe, to begin our journey through this historic part of Deptford.

As we passed the boatyard, with its various businesses ensuring that those using the marina, along with other customers, had access to boat repairs, we noticed a stone marker. This informed us that we were moving from St Mary's parish, Rotherhithe, into St Paul's parish, Deptford. This was also, up until 1899, the Surrey-Kent boundary. 

A little further on, affixed to the top of the remnants of an old wooden mooring dolphin, we spotted a sculpture entitled 'Circumsphere'. This was installed in 1988 and was created by the artists Chris Marshall and Stephen Lewis. It was commissioned by Sustrans and marks Sir Francis Drake's 1577–1580 circumnavigation route to celebrate Deptford's rich maritime and shipbuilding history.

Moving on from Deptford Wharf we found some cannon along the path, which Martin and Keilyn both climbed on to pose for photos, before we found ourselves at The Queen's Stairs (Drake's Steps). It was here, back on April 4, 1581, that Queen Elizabeth I took a boat to the Golden Hind where she knighted Drake. A myth abounds that it was on the road beside these steps that Walter Raleigh laid down his cloak, so that the Queen wouldn't have to step into a puddle. I think this is more a myth than fact.

More cannon greeted us as we reached Pepys Park, where a high brick wall separated this part of Deptford from the now disused Deptford Dockyard. These dockyards were set up in 1513, by King Henry VIII,  to build and maintain the warships of his rapidly expanding Royal Navy. Known originally as the King's Yard, it became the most significant royal dockyard of the Tudor period and a world-class capital for naval shipbuilding and maritime innovation for over 350 years. Just the other side of this wall, barely visible from the park, is the entrance to the Golden Hind Dry Dock. It was here that the Golden Hind would, under the order of Queen Elizabeth I, be permanently preserved in a specially constructed dry dock. She sat there on display for roughly 70 years, effectively serving as England's very first museum ship.

We left Pepys Park and headed along Leeway and joined Grove Street from where we entered Sayes Court Park. Sayes Court Park directly adjoins the historical site where the Golden Hind was preserved and is close to where Queen Elizabeth I hosted her grand celebratory banquet before knighting Francis Drake in 1581. Another highlight of the park is that it is home to John Evelyn's Mulberry Tree, which is believed to have been planted by This mulberry tree is believed to have been planted by the Russian Tsar Peter I the Great. Many of its boughs are supported to stop them from breaking.

On leaving the park we headed along Dacca Street, before turning onto Prince Street, where we stopped to admire the wonderful 'Dog and Bell' pub. We then turned down Watergate Street and headed towards the steps that would lead us to the foreshore. All along the route from Pepys Park we had kept to the outer wall of the Deptford Dockyards, ensuring that we took the shortest route around this vast 40 acre (16,6 hectare) estate.

As luck would have it, the River Thames was reaching its low tide for the afternoon, allowing us to venture onto the foreshore. With Keilyn looking for pieces of clay pipe, a bowl of which she found, and Martin looking at the various rocks and tiles, I ventured off toward the Golden Hind Dry Dock roughly 500 metres (1640 feet) upstream. 

Treading carefully over weathered bricks, smashed tiles, pieces of clay pipes, iron nails from once powerful, and more, I made my way towards the entrance of the dock. Here the rocks were slick with algae, causing me to check my footing even more. Finally I was in front of the dry dock, staring into a piece of history. After a good exploration Keilyn joined me, so I took a photo of her in the dry dock to show some scale. We then headed back towards the steps, still keeping an eye out for any interesting finds.

After making our way back up the stairs we followed Borthwick Street and rejoined the Thames Path on Glaisher Street. A rotting, wooden mooring pier looked forlorn in the receding water as we made our way to Deptford Creek, passing the intriguing statue of Peter the Great. We traversed the creek via the Greenwich Reach Swing Bridge and joined Dreadnought Walk, which we followed until we reached 'Amitabha Garden', where we stopped to peruse the shop. 'Amitabha Garden' is a serene Buddhist wellness sanctuary, Zen shop, and cultural tea house. We continued on, passing the south ramp of the Greenwich Steam Ferry, before dropping down onto the beach by Billingsgate Dock. Lots of sand, pebbles, broken tiles and clay pipes were in evidence as young children skimmed pebbles across the breaking waves. 

After exploring the beach we headed up to Cutty Sark Gardens, deciding that it was time to find some food. Greenwich Market seemed the obvious place to start. Sure enough there was food to cover every appetite and there was something  for every fussy eater. Keilyn settled for a pork sausage hot dog, while Martin had pulled pork with Asian sliced salad in a steamed brioche bun. I opted for beef brisket in mine. We sat by the entrance to the market and devoured our meals, surrounded by the aromas of food from around the world. 

On leaving the market we headed back to Cutty Sark Gardens, stopping to pick up some refreshments on the way, where we sat opposite Cutty Sark and enjoyed the afternoon sun. We then made our way into the Grade II listed Greenwich Foot Tunnel entrance, descending the 100 steps to the tunnel, and began our walk towards the north shore. 

Thames Path (north side)

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is not a public right of way and cycling is forbidden, as it contravenes bylaws, not that anyone seems to care as cycles zipped by us in both directions. Keilyn, who had set off in front of us, was already climbing the 87 steps to the exit as Martin and I reached the waiting lift. So we took it. On exiting the lift Keilyn accused us of cheating, before we headed into Island Gardens to take some photos of the Old Royal Naval College. From this vantage point we could see how yellow the usually luscious green Greenwich Park is, so severe has been the heatwaves that we have experienced lately.

We then headed to Johnson's Draw Dock, where we walked to the end of the slipway to get some better shots of Greenwich, before following Manchester Road to the 'Ferry House' pub, from where we rejoined the Thames Path. We passed the old Maconochies Wharf and Burrells Wharf before arriving at the Great Eastern Slipway. This was the exact spot from where, on January 31, 1858, following thirteen unsuccessful attempts, the SS Great Eastern was launched sideways into the River Thames. She was the largest ship ever built, at the time, and was the brainchild of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

We then continued our walk along the Thames Path, moving onto Westferry Road when the path stopped, before we rejoined it at Sir John McDougall Gardens. It was here that Martin and I took a seat in the shade, while Keilyn clambered over climbing frames and flew down slides. 

We crossed Limehouse Lock and continued on our way along the Thames Path, stopping to take a seat on 'Speaking of the River' bench, which is an audio artwork that plays recorded interviews, soundscape, and local memories about life by the water. We then continued our journey along the path, passing by Dundee Wharf and Limekiln Dock, before heading onto Narrow Street. We passed 'The Grapes' and stopped at a newsagent, to purchase Keilyn an ice cream, before crossing Limehouse Ship Lock, where the Regent's Canal begins, and continued westward. 

After a slight detour onto The Highway we entered King Edward VII Memorial Park, making our way to its newly opened Thames Tideway Park. Like the rest of the new public realms, this one has a unique feature of a flotilla of six cast-bronze boat sculptures. Then there are the intertidal habitats, diverse planting to encourage biodiversity and plenty of seating. With such great views and with ample space to sit and relax, I think this is my favourite of the newly opened public realms, and I will definitely be returning. Thames Tideway Public Realms gallery.

From here we joined Wapping Wall, crossing Shadwell Basin via the Bascule Bridge, and passed 'The Prospect of Whitby, before moving onto Wapping High Street, with its converted warehouse now containing businesses, retail space and residential properties. We passed the Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit and Wapping Rose Gardens, which didn't appear to have any roses, before strolling by the 'Town of Ramsgate'. Opposite the 'Town of Ramsgate' is St John's Churchyard, some of which was used as a plague pit, between 1665-1666. Like many other plague pits, throughout London, many of their locations have been built over or forgotten. A little further on we stopped at Hellings Street Open Space, where Keilyn perused the Wapping Little Free Library, settling on a copy of 'Treasure Island' to take home.

With time getting on and with Keilyn beginning to tire, I thought it best to head towards a station that would get us closer to home. Our normal route from here would have taken us by St Katharine Docks & Marina, Tower Bridge and the Fortress and Palace at the Tower of London, but these places are normally under siege from tourists which we would have to battle through. So, I decided that we should take a more direct route towards Aldgate. We turned up Hellings Street which brought us to Hermitage Wall and onto Vaughan Way and over the Ornamental Canal. We crossed The Highway onto Dock Street and then Leman Street, where we turned west along Prescot Street and stopped for a drink at 'Goodman's Field', where we sat outside in the cool evening air.

Once we had finished our drinks we made our way along Mansell Street to Aldgate High Street and our destination of Aldgate station. After passing through the ticket barriers we descended the stairs and watched as the semi-fast Watford-bound train pulled out of the station. Fortunately, an Uxbridge-bound train pulled in a few minutes later, so we clambered aboard and rode the few stops to Baker Street. Pulling into Platform 2 I looked out of the window and noticed a semi-fast Watford-bound train on Platform 1. We immediately jumped aboard and were soon speeding back to Croxley. 

It was yet another great day out, seeing some remarkable pieces of history and revisiting some familiar places, with great company.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Car - 3.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• DLR - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Ferry - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Overground - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• River Boat - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Taxi - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Train - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Tram - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Underground - 40 miles (64.37 kms)
• Walking - 12.80 miles (20.60 kms)