Stage 11 - Vauxhall Bridge to Woolwich Foot Tunnel - August 15th
- John Tippetts
- Sep 21, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 15, 2024
I was really determined to reach Woolwich Foot Tunnel today, as to do so would mean I’d walked the 185.2 miles of the Thames Path National Trail in 11 stages. This would be 1 less than I did it in 2022. Obviously, I would still have the 47 miles of England Coast Path to go beyond Woolwich to complete this challenge.
The industrial action by ASLEF union members was over for now and this meant I was able to get to today’s start point by train by 10:30. It was going to be one of those ‘sunny intervals’ days which was fine by me.
So, off I set towards Westminster. Between Lambeth Bridge and Westminster Bridge is the National COVID Memorial Wall – over 500 yards of it! The wall is a visual representation of the UK’s catastrophic loss of life to COVID. There are more than 220,000 individually painted red and pink hearts, each one representing a life lost to COVID. The wall really brings home the huge loss of life we had in the UK. Every time I pass it, I get quite emotional for 2 opposing reasons. My first emotion is that I feel so sorry for the people who died and their families. Many of these people died needlessly e.g. care home residents infected by patients released from hospitals who hadn’t been tested, despite Matt Hancock declaring the Government would “throw a protective ring around our care homes”.
My second emotion is one of anger towards our Government that appeared to only take action when it was obvious to the rest of the country that something had to be done. Even when they did take action it was always too little too late. For heaven’s sake, couldn’t they see what had been happening in countries like China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy? I got the impression that the buffoon in Downing Street was so detached from reality and somehow thought the virus wouldn’t come here. This makes my blood boil. It is ironic that the memorial wall is directly opposite Parliament. Needless to say, the Government had no say in the creation of the memorial, otherwise it would probably have never been created. St Thomas’ Hospital is on the other side of the wall.
So, moving on from the COVID memorial, I next had the joys of the South Bank to deal with. Between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge I had to accept there would be a large number of families and tourists unwittingly conspiring to get in my way, slow me down and cause me to swear a lot – quietly! The older I’ve got the more intolerant I’ve become, which of course is how things should be.
I’m only joking by the way; it’s holiday season and we desperately need tourists to bring money into the country. I’m sure I also dawdle & dither when I’m abroad.
In need of a toilet break, I popped into the Tate Modern. The works on show in there somehow manage to bring The Emperor’s New Clothes to the front of my mind. Art? Really?
Moving on, the number of families and tourists increased again as I approached Borough Market and then Tower Bridge. I remained calm as I knew once I walked under Tower Bridge, I would have the best 4 miles of this walk ahead of me and these would be tourist-free, at least until I reached Greenwich.
Immediately you pass under Tower Bridge you are almost transported back to London Docklands in the 19th century. Shad Thames is the name of a street but is also an informal name for the surrounding area within Bermondsey. In the 19th century the area included the largest warehouse complex in London. Many of the warehouses have been converted into apartments and offices. I think it’s brilliant that the underlying warehouses have been saved and have retained their original features. Most of them are named after the original commodities that were stored in them. There is so much fascinating history all along here.
In Rotherhithe Village I passed the Mayflower pub, linked to the sailing of the Mayflower in 1620 to America. Opposite the pub is the Brunel Museum, situated at the Brunel Engine House. This was part of the infrastructure for the Thames Tunnel, the 1st tunnel in the world built under a navigable river. It still has the tunnel shaft that you can take a look at. It’s fascinating stuff.
As the river snakes it gives the impression that The Shard is on the right bank rather than the left bank.
After passing the top of the Rotherhithe peninsula, the Canary Wharf skyscrapers came into full view on the other side of the river. Canary Wharf was developed on the former West India Docks. The original building, 1 Canada Square, is just about holding on to being the tallest building in Canary Wharf.
If you are really interested in the former docklands, I heartily recommend walking the North Path Thames Path from Trinity Buoy Wharf to Tower Bridge. It’s fascinating. If you don’t fancy the walk, then why not visit the Museum of London Docklands at No 1 Warehouse in Canary Wharf – it’s free to enter! Museum of London Docklands
Directly opposite Canary Wharf the path passes Surrey Docks Farm which is a city farm and charity. It is free to enter so relies on donations to keep going.
I like to stop off there to see the animals and buy a coffee. Today though, it was very warm so I treated myself to an ice cream. As I was paying, I saw they had one rather large jam doughnut left on sale. Do I or don’t I? Silly question really. With room in my backpack, this would serve as a tasty afternoon snack later on.
Continuing towards Greenwich, the path passed Greenland Dock which was part of the Surrey Commercial Docks and like all of London’s docks closed in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the shipping industry adopting the use of containers for transporting cargo. The Thames in London wasn’t deep enough to handle big container ships. After 10+ years of remaining derelict, nearly all the docks were filled in but Greenland Dock escaped. Today, all its warehouses have been demolished and replaced with apartments. The dock itself is now used for water sports as well as having a small marina.
Next to Greenland is South Dock Marina. It has a fully working lock and access to Greenland Dock so that watercraft have access to the river.
After being forced away from the river briefly, the path rejoined at Deptford Creek, which is where the River Ravensbourne flows into the Thames. A modern footbridge crosses the mouth of the river.
I’d now reached busy Greenwich which has so much to see and do. As well as the Cutty Sark, there are attractions such as the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Park and the Greenwich Royal Observatory. It’s no wonder it’s such a popular place to visit.
On leaving Greenwich, heading for the O2, the path passed under a disused jetty at Greenwich Power Station. This was where coal was unloaded to feed the steam turbines. The power station generated electricity for what became London Underground. As years went on the steam turbines were replaced with oil and subsequently gas turbines. London Underground now uses the National Grid for its electricity but Greenwich Power Station remains an emergency power supply and London's only original power station still in operation.
The path continued up the left hand side of the Greenwich Peninsula towards the O2 Arena. This side is still not fully developed but there is plenty of construction going on and each time I walk here another new tower block has sprung up.
Near the top of the peninsula the path passed what looks like a standard road sign pointing to a place called ‘Here’, a distance of 24,859 (presumably) miles. This is in fact an artwork. It is located at 0 degrees longitude – the same as the Greenwich Meridian - and marks the distance around the earth and back from that point. Were it not that the physical position of the artwork is so important, I feel it should be in the Tate Modern! ‘Here’ is actually just 1 work in a larger collection called ‘The Line’. This is London’s first public art trail.
The O2 Arena structure is huge and the metal fencing that surrounds it seems to go on for ever. Eventually though I was on the right hand side of Greenwich Peninsula with the Thames Barrier in the distance.
The two towers of the cable car across the river now dominated the skyline. The cable car connects North Greenwich with the Royal Docks, providing easy access to the O2 Arena and ExCel London. For many years the cable car was called the Emirates Air Line after its sponsor but in October 2022 it became the IFS Cloud Cable Car – not quite such a catchy name – after a new sponsor took over. The cable car is a line in its own right on the Transport for London (TFL) network.
A new Damien Hirst sculpture had appeared since I last walked here last year. This latest one is huge and is called ‘Demon With Bowl’ and at 60 feet tall I was hardly going to miss it! It joins a number of other Damien Hirst pieces on display here.
Continuing towards the Thames Barrier, the tower blocks of new apartments came to an end at Greenwich Yacht Club and industrial units took over, particularly concrete and aggregates facilities.
At last I reached the Thames Barrier which took 8 years to build and first became operational in 1982. It’s a really impressive piece of infrastructure.
The Thames Path passes the barrier along a short underpass beneath the control centre. It features a graphical representation of the river from sea to source along one of the walls.
As I emerged from the underpass, I had reached the original end of the Thames Path. I’ve never quite understood why the signage here says the barrier is 180 miles from the source but the Thames Path National Trail has always been 184 miles long. Never mind, this is all water under the bridge now, as in January 2022 the Thames Path was extended by 1.2 miles to finish/start at the Woolwich Foot Tunnel.
After taking a few pics at the barrier I set off again and followed the signs for Woolwich. Approaching the 2 Woolwich Ferry piers either side of the river, I was surprised not to be able to see a ferry. A sign at the south pier advised my that the ferries were taking a well earned summer break for some R&R and would be back in service at the beginning of September.
The Woolwich Ferry is where the North & South Circular Roads start/end on the eastern side of London. In the west, they meet at Chiswick. It’s not too big a deal that the ferry was closed for summer because motorists can use the Blackwall Tunnel and pedestrians & cyclists can use the Woolwich Foot Tunnel.
I reached the Woolwich Foot Tunnel at about 16:45. I took the mandatory photos to show I’d made it but there was no sense of jubilation that not only had I just completed the Thames Path National Trail for the 4th time but I’d completed it in fewer stages than I’d done before and with a dodgy left foot!
There is just something about the buildings surrounding the entrance to the tunnel and their close proximity to it that is just so awful and to my mind detracts from the achievement.
Quite apart from this, there was the small matter of the 3 England Coast Path stages to go before my challenge would be complete. I was really looking forward to these walks. If I thought the river was wide here, I'd seen nothing yet!
Anyway, it was time to have the customary sneaky pint before getting the Elizabeth Line back to Farringdon. I went to the Dial Arch, a pub I know very well from when my son had an apartment in Woolwich. Remember the jam doughnut I bought earlier in the day at Surrey Docks Farm? Well, it had survived and went down very well with my pint!
Looking downstream towards the estuary. This will have to wait until stage 12.
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