A Curious Walk along the Thames: Rotherhithe, Deptford, and Greenwich

On yet another beautiful day, I resumed my walk on the Thames Path, along the South Bank of the river. I started where I had ended the previous walk, at the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe, just past the Mayflower Pub. I soon came to the curious statue below, at Cumberland Wharf. From right about here, the ship Mayflower left for the New World in 1620. 

The statue, put up in the 1990s, is of a Pilgrim of the 1620s and a young Londoner of the 1930s. The lad is reading a popular boy's magazine called the Sunbeam Weekly. the sculptor, Peter Maclean, has spelled it "Weakly." Was this a joke or just a mistake? 

Other curiosities: the Pilgrim has a lobster claw in his pocket, a crucifix, and a London A-Z Street guide dated 1620! The dog, by the way, is a Staffordshire Terrier, a popular breed around here.

Walking on, I soon found myself opposite the Isle of Dogs (no connection to the statue). The Isle was once home to the vast East India Docks, opened in 1802. They closed for good in 1980. The triumph of mammoth container ships rendered them and other London docks obsolete. Today, the area is home to the financial center known as Canary Wharf.    

Resuming my trek on the South Bank, I passed the Docklands Hilton and arrived at the Surrey Docks Farm, a charming urban oasis of green, complete with farm animals, including pigs and goats. One can buy produce and enjoy a snack or meal in the farm's Cafe.

Just beyond the farm I came to Greenland Dock, now a marina for boats of all shapes and sizes, mainly pleasure craft, canal boats, and houseboats.

Greenland Dock is in Deptford. It is near here that Elizabeth I knighted Francis Drake upon his return from circumnavigating the globe in his ship The Golden Hinde. A replica of the ship can be visited upriver in Bankside, at St Mary Overie Dock.  

Things got curiouser and curiouser. After Greenland Dock, I had to take a short detour away from the riverfront. The detour took me through Sayes Court Park, where I encountered an ancient fenced mulberry tree with signs around it informing me that it was Evelyn's Mulberry, that it was entered in the contest for the UK's tree of the Year, and that I should vote for it.

Legend has it that Tsar Peter the Great of Russia planted the tree during a visit to England in 1698. He planted it, so the story goes, to placate his landlord, the famous diarist John Evelyn, after doing some damage to the gardens during a drunken escapade. Other tales argue that the tree is older, perhaps planted during the reign of James I (1603-1624). Whatever the tree's origins, calling it Evelyn's Mulberry is justified. Evelyn owned the land it sits upon, and he wrote one of the first books on trees in 1664. 

After leaving Sayes Court Park, I quickly returned to the riverside and ran into Peter the Great again, memorialized in another curious statue. Peter had come to London mainly because he wanted to study British shipbuilding. He wanted to establish a western style navy in Russia. The statue itself is quite recent, a gift from Russia to commemorate Peter's visit. The little man to Peter's right is said to be one of his dwarf court jesters. Peter himself was extremely tall, 6'6" (2.03m).

From the vantage point of Peter's statue, I had a good view of my final destination for the day, Greenwich, dominated by the masts of the clipper Cutty Sark and the cupolas of the Old Royal Naval College. Both are now museums, in a place full of museums. There are also the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory, where one can stand on the Prime Meridian.

I had visited all these attractions on other occasions. The day was getting late, and I was getting thirsty, thus I wisely limited my time in Greenwich to a stop at the Trafalgar Tavern, guarded by yet another statue, this one of Britain's greatest admiral, Horatio Nelson. Compared to the Mayflower and Peter the Great statues, that of Nelson seemed rather prosaic!

London's Wapping District: A Great Place to Hang in London

Wapping is not one of London's districts crammed with tourists, and that is one of the best things about it. One can stroll about unimpeded by the gawking crowds at the nearby Tower of London and have the gawking to oneself. But there are other good things as well. Wapping was once a bustling port area dominated by wharves and warehouses and trades catering to the seafaring world: chandlers, inns, pubs, dosshouses, and doxies. 

Wapping was heavily bombed in World War II and the docks, unable to handle the large ships of the late 20th century, closed in the 1960's. The area was largely derelict until major redevelopment began in the 1980's. Wapping is now a rather fashionable place, especially near the waterfront, what with the marina, restaurants, and shops of St Katherine's Docks nearby, and its proximity to the financial districts of the City and Canary Wharf. 

The low taverns and brothels may be gone along with the ships and sailors, but the layout of the streets, the warehouses, and a few pubs retain some of the feel of those days. Many of the warehouses have been converted into apartments. The cranes that once hauled goods from ships often remain on the buildings, reminding one of their former purpose. Old stairs lead down to the river at various points along the waterfront. They were used by watermen who ferried people across the river or to ships, and were known as "watermen's stairs." 

The waterside is also home to several inviting pubs with good views of the river. Two of them The Prospect of Whitby and The Town of Ramsgate, claim to be the oldest pubs on the river. 

The Prospect of Whitby boasts the longest pewter bar in Europe and an upstairs room named for Samuel Pepys, the famous 17th century diarist, who used to frequent the place. Another pub, The Captain Kidd, is named for the famous alleged pirate who was hanged nearby at Execution Dock in 1701.

The Prospect and the Captain Kidd both feature hanging ropes outside, to get you in the right mood for celebration.