A beautiful summer’s evening provided the perfect occasion for a stroll through Docklands with Caroline Piper. We explored the picturesque St Katherine’s Docks, built by Thomas Telford 190 years and the centre of the ivory and luxury goods trade before its 1970s transformation into a luxury yacht marina. From here we strolled through Wapping pausing to admire its wonderfully preserved Victorian warehouses and wharves and discovering its historic riverside pubs, including the Town of Ramsgate, Captain Kidd and Prospect of Whitby. We admired views of the river Thames on the site of the dreaded Execution Dock, where for over 400 years pirates, smugglers and mutineers would be hanged from a gallows on the riverbed and their bodies left until the tides had washed over them three times, today a peaceful and relaxing spot. The final section of our walk took us along the waterside of Tobacco Dock and Shadwell Basin (where people were actually swimming!) with fantastic views of Canary Wharf.
Organised by Caroline Piper