An abortive Wander to Frank’s Cafe at Limehouse…..

[Wapping]

Back out onto Commercial Road:



But let’s not walk straight back to the Highway but instead, turn left to take a detour down Ratcliffe Lane:



Where I tripped over something I’d never noticed before:

 

[Wapping]

I must say, it’s an extraordinary set-up and really rather good. Having never been to the place, I somehow first went into what I thought was the cafe, which turned out to be a room of yummy-mummies….. all knitting.



There was quite a clever art ‘installation’ depicting Tower Hamlets but made entirely from plastic bottle tops:

 

[Wapping]

Tea and brunch disposed of, I wandered on to see if I could find the actual building of St Katherine’s itself, not least as it appeared you can stay there. There it was, on Butcher Row. I must have walked or driven past 100’s of times and never noticed it:




Just to the side of another little park or green space, St James’ Gardens. This is right by the western entrance / exit of the Limehouse Link Tunnel:

Stay at RFSK | An extraordinary urban oasis

Whether on a short stay in London, a business trip, or a holiday from abroad, we offer a quiet sanctuary set in an extraordinary urban oasis.

www.rfsk.org.uk

Royal Foundation of St Katharine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

John Groser - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

PS You can indeed stay there. I’d give it a go, if I wanted a B&B stay in London, not least as it would be different and probably better than the Travelodge, just across the road by the Cemex plant.

 

[Wapping]

New places investigated, let’s wander on in the drizzle, out onto Butcher Row and left to the Highway, where we’ll turn right, westwards towards Wapping and home:



Not far along, history is sort of repeating itself, with the creation of new warehouses:



Opposite the preserved gates of the old:



And evidence of further renewal:

 

[Wapping]

Instead of ripping things down, London is sometimes quite good at giving buildings a new lease of life and a fresh purpose:

Broad Street School, Stepney

Workmen on ladders repairing damage to Broad Street School, Ratcliff, Stepney during construction of the Rotherhithe Tunnel. The future British champion boxer (and ‘Rank Gong Man’) ‘Bombardier’ Billy Wells attended the school from 1899-1901.

www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk

Welcome to Idea Store

Idea Stores combine the best of traditional library and information services with lifelong learning opportunities.

www.ideastore.co.uk

 

[Wapping]

Wandering on, we cross over the Highway and enter King Edward Memorial Park and head for the river, where they are still doing work on the new ‘Super sewer’, soon to be finished:



Looking westwards:



And a reminder of Wapping’s long association with ships and exploration:

 

[Wapping]

We’ll leave the gardens by the footpath, past the sailing and canoeing club on the eastern end of Shadwell Basin, near enough where we started:

 

[Wapping]

Now it’s just a walk back along Wapping Wall, which runs parallel and close to the Thames, before becoming Wapping High Street, all the way to near enough St Katherine’s Dock and the Tower of London.

There are three pubs along the way, which we’ll see, along with the views across the river to Rotherhithe.

 

[Wapping]

Off we go:



The first pub up is the Prospect of Whitby, hugely popular with tourists:



You’ll maybe notice the narrow passage between the pub and the rebuilt Pelican Wharf to the right of the picture. This is Pelican Stairs, which leads to a narrow flight of steps to the Thames. Let’s go along the passage and down the steps. As the tide is right out, we can stand on the ‘beach’ and, more importantly, see how high the river rises, when the huge tide is in:

The Prospect of Whitby Pub Restaurant in Wapping

Combining good food & drink with friendly service and inviting atmosphere at The Prospect of Whitby. A pub at the heart of Wapping, we cant wait to welcome you!

www.greeneking.co.uk

Prospect of Whitby - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wapping]

Let’s continue along Wapping Wall, turning left as we come out of Pelican Stairs:



All the way along there are warehouse, the vast majority of which are now converted into flats:



With some that are still unoccupied and untouched since their owner last shut and locked the doors. I can only wonder how much the property or even just the site is worth today. We’ll see some more before the end:



Wapping Wall ends at Wapping Station, where the road splits. The station (which only operates under a special licence) is unusual in that it doesn’t meet the safety standards of a modern station on the network. Its platforms are too narrow and the platform length too short. It’s great that we have it though, along with two good bus routes. The 100 to Liverpool Street railway station in the City and then on to St Paul’s cathederal. The D3 bus which runs eastwards to the top end if the Isle of Dogs and the huge financial towers of Canary Wharf:



To the right is Wapping Lane, whist straight ahead is Wapping High Street. We can have a look up Wapping Lane and in the estate agent’s window:

Wapping railway station - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wapping]

We’lll carry on westwards, along Wapping High Street:



And past a large area that has, for some unknown reason, remained undeveloped, maybe since the site was Blitzed:



Past another undeveloped former warehouse wharf:



To arrive at the next pub, The Captain Kidd:



The pub’s one saving grace, is that it has great views across the river to Rotherhithe. We can have a look:

The Captain Kidd Pub and Restaurant London

The Captain Kidd pub and restaurant 108 Wapping High Street London E1W 2NE

thecaptainkidd.co.uk

Captain Kidd, Wapping - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wapping]

On from the Captain Kidd, we’ll pass more developed warehouses, the Thames River Police (the oldest force in London) and the green space of Wapping Rose Gardens, one of a series of little parks along the way:

Thames River Police - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wapping]

On we go, the River Police station just behind us and Waterside Gardens to our left. The blue and white building is the River Police’s repair and maintenance shop:



We are now at the end, having covered about four and a half miles. The Town of Ramsgate pub (my local) can just be seen to the right of the redeveloped flats of Oliver’s Warf:

Wapping Pub • Town of Ramsgate

The Town of Ramsgate is a friendly and welcoming pub set in the heart of East London, in the centre of the ancient hamlet of Wapping.

townoframsgate.pub

Town of Ramsgate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wapping]

One interesting fact’ette I learned during my visit to the Docklands Museum, is that the sailing ships coming up the Thames, used the many churches to navigate by. It is easy, even today, to see why, not least as each church spire was unique. It also explains why the churches in particular were detailed on maps and charts:

 

[crumbles]

Cheers Richard,
For the very informative pictures and scrip......

I might be brave one day and visit again.....

 

[er-minio]

I used to cycle almost daily through St. James Gardens on my way to Canary Wharf for about a year.
Almost became acquainted with the junkies that basically lived in the park


The bit after the park was nicer.

 

[Majesty]

Excellent, thanks for posting.

 

[Aidan1150]

Thanks for that Richard, as @crumbles says most informative and very interesting for those of us unlikely to get such an indepth look at these places for real.

 

[Mzokk]

The question is........are you now a member of the knitting club

 

[Aidan1150]

Highly likely Marcus, reluctantly so, but nonetheless...