Saturday January 25, 2025.
Another Saturday and another trip to London was in order.
Up. Dressed. Keilyn and I take an Uber to the station. Meet Steve. Underground to Finchley Road. Underground to Aldgate.
Reaching the end of the line, Steve, Keilyn and I left Aldgate station and immediately grabbed a hot drink from the coffee shop outside the station. Then, with drinks in hand, we set off... heading east.
Heading along Aldgate High Street we crossed St Botolph Street and continued along Whitechapel High Street and onto Whitechapel Road, soon coming to Whitechapel Market, with its hustle and bustle and aromatic smells.
We passed the old Whitechapel Dell Foundry, the Royal London Hospital and the Blind Beggar pub, briefly toying with the idea of heading south, through Shadwell to the River Thames, but instead continued east along Mile End Road.
Statues, sculptures and fascinating architecture lined our route with Trinity Green and its Almshouses being a highlight, with stone ships mounted atop the ends of the Almshouses.
We continued our walk, passing Stepney Green station and the huge campus that is Queen Mary University of London, until we reached The Regent's Canal.
Realising that we would soon end up on Stratford or Ilford, if Keilyn had her way, we decided to join the towpath and follow the canal to the River Thames.
Swans, coots, moorhens, ducks and geese were happily gliding along the still water surface, while Herons stood on the bank, or stood motionless in Mile End Park, oblivious to the joggers and families using the space.
We passed the Ragged School Museum, with its cafe full of patrons, and continued alongside the canal until we reached Limehouse Basin, with its myriad barges, boats and yachts.
From here it was a short walk through Ropemakers Fields to Narrow Street, using the bridge to cross Limekiln Dock, to reach Limehouse Hole Stairs. As the tide was out we dropped down onto the small beach and enjoyed the unseasonably warm heat of the sun.
As we climbed back up to street level I could just make out a conversation between a young woman and a much older man, but there was no one around that matched the sounds. Joggers were plugged into their devices, while families were pointing out the sights. As I stood and listened I realised that the voices were coming from a silver bench. Sitting down I realised that it was a recorded interview about life on the docks, being played through speakers at either end of the bench. It is such a clever idea.
We continued along Loverose Way before crossing onto Heron Quays Road, making our way around Middle Dock, heading for the Henry Addington pub, where we would have dinner.
