In the 1980 classic thriller The Long Good Friday, Bob Hoskins’ character, Harold Shand, gives his view on the future of Docklands: “I believe this is the decade in which London will become Europe's capital. Having cleared away the outdated, we've got mile after mile and acre after acre of land, for our future prosperity. No other city in the world... has got right in its centre, such an opportunity... for profitable progress.” While things don't go well for Harold - his vision of the future proves fairly accurate and the old docks are redeveloped and London does host the Olympics. On this walk, Rob visits many of the East London locations from the film -- some recognisable, some changed beyond Harold's wildest dreams -- and also talks about the recent history of Docklands that brought the changes about.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Tower Hill Tube Station, Trinity Square, EC3N 4DJ
One of a series following the Thames from London looking at industrial, maritime and military history, this walk takes in an area that was once dominated by the testing grounds of the Royal Woolwich Arsenal. We'll walk along canals that were once used for carrying gunpowder, see the site of storage facilities for cordite, land where tanks were tested and a stretch of water once used for testing torpedoes. This stretch of the Thames features a dangerous bend called Tripcock Ness – we’ll go past a lighthouse which still marks the area, and hear tales from the river. In the 1960s, the area was built on to create a New Town within the boundaries of London - Thamesmead. We’ll look at the idealism of the plan and how Thamesmead is developing today. The walk also visits Medieval Lesnes Abbey, before finishing at Abbey Wood station.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Plumstead Station, Walmer Terrace
There’s so much more to Walthamstow than just its famous mile-long Market. The grand tombs in St Mary’s Churchyard offer clues to the area’s history, which is not what you might think. Starting at the award-winning William Morris Gallery, on this walk we will hear about the plagiarist who brought us Sweeney Todd and an interior designer nicknamed “Come and Seduce Me”, see a remnant of a post office designed by Robert Smirke and a theatre hidden within a school, visit the real and original Walthamstow Village with its Ancient House and finish at an industrial estate home to the jaw dropping God’s Own Junkyard, the Wild Card Brewery and the Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace.
Guide: Joanna Moncreiff
Meet at William Morris Gallery (outside front entrance), London E17 4PP
Blackwall in London’s Docklands has as much maritime history as Greenwich – it’s just that you have to look a bit harder to find it. In this two-hour walk, Rob Smith uses fragments of the old dockyard and street names to tell the story of the East India Company, who made Blackwall their home for almost 250 years. You will hear stories of bravery, greed and ingenuity. The walk also visits the Leamouth Peninsula, one of the most unusual places on the Thames with a maritime history of its own. Rob will also tell the stories of some of the ships built in the famous Blackwall Yard and you’ll hear how Blackwall is at the heart of communications in the 21st century.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at East India DLR Station
Clapton is just part of the borough of Hackney, but is packed full of interest - historical Tudor houses, famous playwrights, suffragettes, spies, Sixties pop stars - and, even though its more recent history has had troubling aspects, it is definitely an area on the upwards route: a rewarding place to visit which is rarely on the tourist itinerary.
Guide: Sue Doe
Meet at Hackney Central Station, off Amhurst Road, London E8 1LL
Retrace the steps of the most famous radical women associated with Bow, starting with the Bryant and May matchwomen. Sylvia Pankhurst established the Suffragette East London Federation here, campaigning not only for the right of women to vote, but also to establish their social and economic freedom. Minnie Lansbury died here, after a heroic fight for justice for local residents. We will re-locate past struggles for social justice and take a look at the modern Bow on the way.
Guide: Oonagh Gay
Meet at Bow Church DLR Station, London E3 3AA
Ivor Novello, Lawrence of Arabia, Queen Victoria and the Forgotten Father of English Sport are among the characters with connections to the area that Joanna will introduce you to on this walk around Chingford and the part of Epping Forest beside it that was a hunting ground for Henry VIII. After the Epping Forest Act of 1878 and the arrival of the railways, Chingford and the Forest became a day out for hordes of Eastenders. Following an 1838 tithe map showing footpaths which still exist today, you will hear, among other things, about a family whose actions dramatically improved the lives of Chingford residents and a World War One Aerodrome, with connections to Novello, now lying beneath a reservoir. The walk finishes at a 19th Century refreshment retreat on the edge of the forest a short walk from the station.
Guide: Joanna Moncreiff
Meet at Chingford Railway Station, London E14 4PP
This two-hour walk looks at the exteriors of very different buildings, all built during the 20th Century. From the grandeur of the famous Hackney Empire, civic pride of Hackney Town Hall, and the post war simplicity of Brett Manor, to more recent buildings like Sutton Square and Hackney Academy, Hackney has a range of buildings built in response to a variety of needs. Rob Smith will talk about the buildings and some of the social history context in which they were built.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Hackney Central Overground Station, Amhurst Road, London E8 1LL
On this walk we will be exploring an area of London with an infamous and violent past – the East End of the 1960s dominated by the feared Kray Twins. Who were Ronnie and Reggie Kray? Two loving sons badly treated by the judicial system? Or hardened criminals who deserved everything they got? On this walk you will see the streets where they lived, the schools they played in and the pubs they frequented, learn how they operated - the protection rackets, the robberies, intimidation and murders - and visit the site of their most notorious murder. In researching this walk, Daniella spoke to members of her own family who lived in the East End during this period and who encountered the Krays to get a unique insight into this most infamous chapter in the history of London.
Guide: Daniella King
Meet at Whitechapel Station, Temporary Exit in Court Street, London E1 1DG
The Isle of Dogs has seen more major industries come and go than most parts of London and has been transformed in the process. Its marshy ground provided rich pasture before becoming a home by the river for world leading iron shipbuilding operations which gave way to cargo handling docks that were the “Pride of the Port of London” until they in turn were replaced by the global banking centre which now dominates the area. On this waterside walk, we will look at these changing industries and hear about the communities and characters – from Scottish engineers to American bankers -- behind them, finding reminders of the old industries amid today’s gleaming towers and using archive photos to illustrate this fascinating area’s capacity to reinvent itself.
Guide: Andrew Parnell
Meet at Island Gardens DLR Station Exit
One of a series following the Thames from London looking at industrial, maritime and military history, this walk takes in an area that was once dominated by the testing grounds of the Royal Woolwich Arsenal. We'll walk along canals that were once used for carrying gunpowder, see the site of storage facilities for cordite, land where tanks were tested and a stretch of water once used for testing torpedoes. This stretch of the Thames features a dangerous bend called Tripcock Ness – we’ll go past a lighthouse which still marks the area, and hear tales from the river. In the 1960s, the area was built on to create a New Town within the boundaries of London - Thamesmead. We’ll look at the idealism of the plan and how Thamesmead is developing today. The walk also visits Medieval Lesnes Abbey, before finishing at Abbey Wood station.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Plumstead Station, Walmer Terrace
One of Rob Smith’s series of walks along the Thames going East, this takes us from Rainham where we'll visit the gardens of Rainham Hall - a house built by a ship’s captain who operated his shipping fleet from the village when it was a busy port – before crossing the site of a former military training camp until we reach the Thames, where we'll look at the history of industry in the area. Then it is a peaceful stroll along the Thames through an area that is now an RSPB nature reserve but once rattled to the sound of machine gun fire. The walk ends in Purfleet which used to be a popular destination for day trippers and Dracula!
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Rainham Station, Ferry Lane, London RM13 9HY
This two-hour walk looks at the exteriors of very different buildings, all built during the 20th Century. From the grandeur of the famous Hackney Empire, civic pride of Hackney Town Hall, and the post war simplicity of Brett Manor, to more recent buildings like Sutton Square and Hackney Academy, Hackney has a range of buildings built in response to a variety of needs. Rob Smith will talk about the buildings and some of the social history context in which they were built.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Hackney Central Overground Station, Amhurst Road, London E8 1LL
Dagenham is instantly associated with the huge Ford factory that opened in 1931. However, the Dagenham Dock has an industrial history going back to the early 1800's. This walk will look at a complex history that includes explosives manufacturing, shipbuilding and power generation. You'll get to see the site where the last battleship built on the Thames was completed, London's other flood relief barrier, oil storage depots, scrapyards and a fantastic stretch of the Thames which is an empty white patch on the A-Z. This is a longer walk - around 5 miles - but fans of Patrick Keiller's Robinson films, and Iain Sinclair's books will enjoy being in this extremely off the beaten track part of London.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Dagenham Dock Station, Chequers Lane
While a certain sporting event in 2012 has transformed the area west of Stratford, the Lower Lea Valley between Stratford and the Thames still retains a post-industrial feel. In this two-hour walk, Rob Smith looks at the industrial heritage of the area and the fantastic Victorian (and earlier) architecture that remains. He will talk about how the Lea was important to the development of London. You will see buildings associated with railways, printing, canals, sewage, mills, shipbuilding and gas supply, and see what is planned in the area for the future.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Stratford Station, Station Street, London E15 1AZ
While a certain sporting event in 2012 has transformed the area west of Stratford, the Lower Lea Valley between Stratford and the Thames still retains a post-industrial feel. In this two-hour walk, Rob Smith looks at the industrial heritage of the area and the fantastic Victorian (and earlier) architecture that remains. He will talk about how the Lea was important to the development of London. You will see buildings associated with railways, printing, canals, sewage, mills, shipbuilding and gas supply, and see what is planned in the area for the future.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Stratford Station, Station Street, London E15 1AZ
The Isle of Dogs had a rich history of public housing, including outstanding 1920s Homes for Heroes estates built by radical Poplar councillors in the era before the Docklands Development Corporation initiated a private sector led renewal. Private housing has come to dominate the Island in just a generation, since the creation of Canary Wharf. This walk traces the boundaries between private and public housing in this fascinating tour of the western Isle of Dogs, ending near Mudchute DLR.
Guide: Oonagh Gay
Meet at Heron's Quay DLR Station, London E14 4JB
Part of the Capital Ring circular route round inner London, much of this walk follows London's second greatest river, the River Lea and the Lee Navigation, joining the river at the Horseshoe Bridge, following the towpath by Walthamstow Marshes and Hackney Marshes and finishing by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park near Hackney Wick Station, offering historical and industrial interest as well as wildlife and water, taking in the railway arch where A V Roe in 1909 achieved the first all-British powered flight, the remains of the filter beds that provided drinking water for East London and an outpost of Eton College.
Guide: Sue McCarthy
Meet at Stoke Newington Station, Stamford Hill, London N16 6YA
