Thames Barrier to Tower Bridge

THAMES PATH

WALK

Thames Barrier to Tower Bridge

Saturday 27 May 2017

We started our Thames Path adventure, not at the official start, but at Woolwich Arsenal, walking along a part of the path that is known as the Thames Path Extension.

Passing the well known Woolwich Ferry Terminal we made our way along the river towards the Thames Barrier but it wasn’t long before we were being diverted away from the river and on to the A206 as far as New Charlton.

The path then took us north to the Thames Barrier and the Official Start of this National Trail which, much to our disappointment, was closed!

We skirted around the large Thames Barrier building and back on to the path on the other side and continued along our way passing numerous jetties and wharves along a largely industrial backdrop. In the distance, we could see the Greenwich Peninsula and Canary Wharf.

We passed the Anchor and Hope pub which has been a public house since the 1830’s if not longer and sits near what we suspect to be the Anchor and Hope wharf that was home to Castle’s ship-breaking yard.

The path continued on under the conveyor belts of the big aggregate and cement factories and on to the Greenwich Yacht Club and the Ecology Park that marks the beginning of the Greenwich Peninsular development.

Just along from the Yacht Club, we saw a very unusual sundial. Research reveals that it was designed for the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers who wanted to give a present to the City of London to mark the Millennium. Designed by Piers Nicholson, it is one of three Polar Sundials.

We walked as far as the North Greenwich Pier and then into the main square in front of the O2 where we stopped for a sandwich and a drink that we purchased from the Tesco Express shop.

We walked as far as the North Greenwich Pier and then into the main square in front of the O2 where we stopped for a sandwich and a drink that we purchased from the Tesco Express shop before continuing along the path.

At the tip of the Peninsular, and sitting pretty much over the Blackwall Tunnel, we saw two vertically sliced sections of ships. This was one of the many art installations that are scattered around the peninsula which includes one by Anthony Gormley.

We passed another which was in the form of a traffic sign that simply read “Here 24,859” which is apparently how many miles you have to travel around the world to get back to “here” and we almost entirely missed the upside down pylon.

We carried on passed Moreden Wharf towards the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich and, to my complete surprise, a power station! It was built in 1906 and is still in operation and there are even plans for TfL to install new turbines to power the Tube.

Next to the massive power station building is the Greenwich Hospital which operated from 1692 to 1869 before being used by the Naval College but sandwiched between the two is Trinity Hospital which now functions as sheltered accommodation but was originally built in 1613 by Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton as almshouses.

Beyond the magnificent buildings of the Old Royal Naval College is the Cutty Sark. A British clipper ship built in 1869 as a tea clipper bringing tea from China and then wool from Australia. She ended her working life in 1954 at Greenhithe where she was being used to train cadets before being moved to her current location.

Next to the Cutty Sark is the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. It opened in 1902 and was designed to replace a ferry that had once operated between Greenwich and Millwall. The tunnel is 15 meters below the river, 370 meters long and is made of cast iron rings.

We stopped for a cup of tea at Island Gardens and admired the view of the Old Naval College one more time before the route forced us away from the river and along the busy A1206 until we had passed the Millwall Outer Dock.

The Dockland areas of Millwall and Wapping are full of luxury apartments separated by the Limehouse basin and the Shadwell Basin.

By the time we reached the Prospect of Whitby at Wapping Wall it was time for a drink! This 400-year-old tavern was a meeting place for sailors, smugglers and cut-throats and has an amazing history of its own which includes being the local for “Hanging” Judge Jeffreys and being the site where the first fuchsia plant in the United Kingdom was sold.

The route follows Wapping Wall along the High Street almost until you reach St Katherine Docks. These Docks were designed by Thomas Telford on the former site of the medieval St Katherine Hospital. The docks used steam engines designed by James Watt and Mathew Boulton. The Docks closed in 1968 because they were too small to cope with modern ships. The Dickens Inn can be found here. Now a popular tavern it was once a timber warehouse dating to the 1700s and was relocated to its current location during Thomas Telford’s dock project. The timber frame was encased in brick to make it more in keeping with, what was then, the new look of the site.

Next to St Katherine Docks is Tower Bridge and ‘The Tower’ Tower of London. Both are world-renowned tourist attractions but I think Tower Bridge is the iconic symbol of London and always an amazing sight to behold.

Today it symbolised the end of our 13-mile walk and the beginning of our Thames Path adventure.