Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Tower Bridge to Greenland Pier


I got back on the Thames Path yesterday morning for a walk around Rotherhithe, from Tower Bridge to Greenland Pier (about four miles). I started at the Tower Hill tube station and crossed Tower Bridge to the south bank of the Thames. Above shows the view back to the bridge from the waterfront neighborhood known at Shad Thames.


It was a good day for walking, sunny enough to be pleasant without being broiling. I saw so many towering hollyhocks in gardens and along streets. Our hollyhocks are, as usual, just little tiny things with a handful of leaves and no flowers. I don't know why we don't have better luck with them in our garden.

The path took me through part of Bermondsey -- "the filthiest, strangest and most extraordinary of the many localities that are hidden in London," according to Charles Dickens. I passed through a bone-dry little riverside park ironically called Fountain Green Square, and past the ruins of a 14th Century house built by King Edward III. It was little more than a rocky foundation protruding from the ground.


This riverside sculpture is called "Doctor Salter's Daydream," by Diane Gorvin (1991). Alfred Salter and his wife Ada were pacifist reformers who both served in government and worked to improve the living conditions in Bermondsey, then a notorious slum. Their daughter, Joyce, died of scarlet fever at a young age, and this sculpture is meant to represent Salter remembering his family in earlier years.


My walk took me past the Mayflower Pub, said to be the oldest riverside pub in London, and offered views of the gasometer (above) through some of the housing developments along the water. The river was at my back when I took the photo above.


I crossed the bascule bridge over the channel leading to Surrey Quays (above). This was among many familiar sights as I'd been in this area before.


The path stuck mainly to the river all the way through Rotherhithe, occasionally veering inland where it passed sights like this scenic pub.


At Surrey Docks Farm, a riverside attraction with animals, gardens and a cafe, I found a display case featuring bits of antique animal-themed pottery that had been found on the Thames foreshore. You know I'm a sucker for interesting old bits of china.


Meanwhile, the gleaming towers of Canary Wharf shone across the river like the Emerald City. Even here a hollyhock was happily growing and blooming, having seeded itself in a crack in the pavement!

This section of the path ended at Greenland Pier, so named because it served whaling vessels back in the day. From there I walked inland to the Surrey Quays overground station and caught the tube home.

24 comments:

  1. You do take truly beautiful photos. Is it possible your hollyhocks don't get enough sun? your backyard is fairly full of other plants.

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  2. What an interesting walk! (The photo of the " Blacksmith's Arms reminded me of the one in St. Albans!!) They must need an extra member of staff just to water the flowers!

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  3. Hollyhocks have rounded, lobed leaves that grow all along the strong stems. They flower in their second year before setting seed for the next generation of plants.

    Long time reader and appreciater of your blog, first time commenter.😁🙏

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  4. A fascinating walk. I would love this. Thanks for sharing the photos that give a great idea of the variety. Among so many excellent images, that first is perfect.

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  5. As usual and expected, great reporting here Steve. When I saw the picture of the ceramic bits I thought this was your finds of the day.

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  6. I loved this travel-blog. It takes me want to hop on the next jet to Heathrow. I'm pretty sure you would love Mudlarking. You have to get a license or go on a dig with a certified guide, who are experts at identifying pottery bits from Tudor to The blitz. I'm looking at a bit of Georgian pottery on my desk that my husband and I found when we were mudlarking around the Millennium Bridge.

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  7. I just watched an episode of Midsomer Murders which featured a Blacksmiths Arms looking very much like the one in your photo. I wonder if they used the facade for the shooting.

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  8. Love that sad, lonely sculpture.
    And really love the lively pub!

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  9. What a wonderful walk.
    While I call them gasometers, I've not heard them referred to that in England before.
    That's a gorgeous display of petunias at The Blacksmiths Arms.

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  10. It is so hot here that all I can think about when I see reports of trips and travels is- oh, it's too hot for that! As if the whole world was experiencing Florida heat right now.

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  11. Lovely views of your walking tour. I love hollyhocks - I should try planting some here (as I say of about every other flower you mention - ha!).

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  12. What a great walk. You captured a perfect photo of the bridge. I like those sculptures and the artist's concept. I especially like that pub. What a colorful place. Do you supposed they take all those plants inside when they close? And,I see that Canary Wharf is still growing.

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  13. I like that photo of the Tower Bridge with the modern buildings framed between its towers.

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  14. What a great photo of the bridge. Thanks for the walk through the less frequented areas of London.

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  15. lots of really great photos and last the hollyhock growing in a crack surrounded by bricks and concrete, the force of nature.

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  16. All the photos are good, but the first is my favorite! I'd hate to have to tend to all those baskets of flowers at that pub.

    How much more of the Thames Path do you lack before completing it?

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  17. I like the way you walk alone and have time to think about the areas and get some information on them.

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  18. Tower Bridge is so picturesque. I also love the scenic pub and would like to visit for a pint of bitter. (or ale)

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  19. Wonderful photos, Steve. I love the photo of the Salter Family sculptures. What a thoughtful remembrance of good people.

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  20. Those pottery pieces are great. I love that pink bridge. Looks like a wonderful walk.

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  21. You have so many interesting places to walk. When I went outside with the dogs at 2 p.m., the temperature was 95 but the heat index was 108. Being outside more than a few minutes is unbearable.

    Love,
    Janie

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  22. The pottery bits are so cool- treasure! Love the pink bridge- I don't think I have ever crossed that one or seen it, but then Bermondsey was not in my line of fire.
    I like the click back- Dave's watch returned. Does he still not like to wear them? Nice summer day- it has been summer here today as well. ALL DAY!! no rain!

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  23. River: Thank you! I think lack of sun is a problem for one of them, but the other is planted in about the sunniest possible spot.

    Frances: Is the one in St. Albans also a Fuller's pub? Maybe they have the same ownership?

    Rebecca: Thanks for commenting! Yes, those sound like our hollyhocks, except for the "strong stems" part. (Because ours never develop very big, strong stems.)

    Mitchell: It is a great path with lots of scenery!

    Sabine: Oh, I wish!

    Vivian: Hello! I still intend to go mudlarking one of these days. Life keeps intervening, though. :/

    Boud: It's very possible! But as Frances indicated, it's a common pub name.

    Bob: The sculpture is quite effective, isn't it? Much more so than if the figures were closer together.

    Andrew: My guide map called them gasometers. I'm not sure I knew the word before I read it there, to be honest.

    Ms Moon: Well, heat does have a way of sapping our enthusiasm for anything!

    Bug: If you've got a sunny spot you should go for it! I love them too and I am determined to make them happen in our garden.

    Sharon: Oh, I imagine the plants stay outside for the summer! They're probably anchored down somehow.

    Ellen D: Thanks! I thought it was an interesting contrast.

    Allison: There are no dull neighborhoods here!

    Ellen: It's amazing how determined plants can be -- like that snapdragon that took root in a crack in our front porch.

    Kelly: There are six more segments going all the way to the River Darent, a Thames tributary near Dartford.

    Red: I actually LOVE walking alone. I can set my own pace and stop when I want.

    Margaret: There are SO MANY scenic pubs here. Honestly, I could do a whole book of pubs. (I'm sure there are plenty already.)

    Robin: Isn't it? It's very effective.

    Jeanie: I think the bridge was red at some point but it has faded to pink over time!

    Janie: Ah yes, summer in Florida. I remember it well. That's why someone invented mall-walking!

    Linda Sue: Oh, I'd forgotten about Dave's watch. We've still got that darn thing, and he still never wears it!

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  24. Love London (with all its raw grittiness and beauty) and loved this walk. Great photos by the way. Especially the very last one...isn't nature amazing?

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