Woolwich Foot Tunnel

 

The south entrance to the Woolwich foot tunnel.

Of the roughly 40 tunnels beneath the River Thames, the majority of which carry utilities, railway lines and motor vehicles, only three allow pedestrians to use them: The Greenwich foot tunnel, the Woolwich foot tunnel and the Rotherhithe tunnel, although the latter is not advisable, unless you want to look like a chimney sweep and breathe in noxious fumes.

Friday June 3, 2022

I finally managed to get myself to Woolwich, so that I could walk through the foot tunnel, leaving only the Rotherhithe Tunnel for me to walk through.

It was a beautiful morning as Keilyn and I made our way along the Thames Path from North Greenwich to Woolwich, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the four-day Jubilee weekend.

With lots of building work going on along the River Thames, at Woolwich, the entrance to the foot tunnel was difficult to locate, at first, being sited behind the Waterfront Leisure Centre.

Once we discovered the entrance, which is the oldest remaining building in the riverside area, we made our way down the 94 steps of the spiral staircase to the tunnel itself.

The lift shaft in the south entrance.

Once we reached the tunnel we began the walk towards the north bank. There were few pedestrians using the tunnel, but there were plenty of cyclists, disobeying the rules by cycling through the tunnel. 

Looking back towards the south entrance.

Platinum Jubilee Flypast

Thursday June 2, 2022

Our plan to watch the flypast from Green Park was scuppered by the sheer volume of people that had descended on London, so we headed to Waterloo Bridge. 

This vantage point offered us an unobstructed view of the flypast as it approached Westminster from the east.

Below are some photos of the 70 aircraft that took part.

A Wildcat and two Merlin.

A Wildcat and three Apache.

A Wildcat and three Merlin.

Three Puma and three Chinook.

A Lancaster, two Spitfire and two Hurricane (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight).

'The Ferry House'

The Ferry House

Monday May 16, 2022

For the second time in a matter of weeks I found myself back on the Isle of Dogs and back inside The Ferry House pub. This historic pub has been continuously occupied since 1722 and is the oldest on the island and sits on the corner of Ferry Street, from where the ferry to Greenwich departed from the slipway opposite.

Looking out onto the decking and beer garden.

Inside the pub is tastefully decorated and the two bars - saloon and public - that were norm until fairly recently, have been turned into just a single bar. Small rooms with comfy sofas and a large garden make this pub a wonderful place to stop for refreshments.

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

The entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel at Greenwich.

Of the roughly 40 tunnels beneath the River Thames, the majority of which carry utilities, railway lines and motor vehicles, only three allow pedestrians to use them: The Greenwich Foot tunnel, the Woolwich Foot tunnel and the Rotherhithe tunnel, although the latter is not advisable, unless you want to look like a chimney sweep and breathe in noxious fumes. 

The Greenwich foot tunnel, which I have traversed on numerous occasions, is the oldest pedestrian foot tunnel in London, linking Greenwich with Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs.

The south entrance is located in front of the Cutty Sark, while the north entrance is situated in Island Gardens.

You have the option of descending the stairs or wait for the lift to be free. I always take the stairs, which spiral down to the white-tiled tunnel.

Running in a straight line, it takes roughly 8 minutes to traverse. 

The Greenwich foot tunnel.

The northern end has some thick concrete and steel lining, which covers bomb damage from World War II, that does narrow the interior of the tunnel for a short distance.

Plaque.

Bomb damage repairs.

Walking with friends: Borough Market to the Isle of Dogs... and beyond

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.

Heading towards the River Thames we made our way through the Contorted Tunnel, which Stephen had never seen, to the basement of Hay's Galleria. Climbing the stairs we headed out on to the embankment, by HMS Belfast, and followed the path to Tower Bridge. 

Tower Bridge and the Girl with a Dolphin.

Taking the eastern pedestrian path, across the bridge, we headed to St Katharine Docks Marina, where various yachts, barges, lifeboats and the Queen's Rowbarge 'Gloriana' were moored. As we rounded one of the buildings I pointed out Stanley Kubrick's original 'Monolith' from 2001: A Space Odyssey, which had been affixed to the wall of one of the buildings, back in 1977.

'Monolith' by Arthur Fleischmann.

From here we headed eastward towards Hermitage Basin and the Ornamental Canal, through Wapping Woods and on to Shadwell Basin. A small area of the basin was being used by Wapping Docklands Market, so we had a look around the different food stalls before heading in to the historic The Prospect of Whitby, for a well-deserved drink.

Our first drink in London together for a number of years.