Total Distance: 6.6 miles
Time: 3 hrs 51 min
Points of Interest:
The Cutty Sark
Peter the Great Memorial
Surrey Docks Farm
Brunel Museum
St Mary’s Church
Tower Bridge
The weather this week was a lot cooler than the previous, which was a relief for both of us. We started where we left off, at the Cutty Sark, one of the last British tea clipper ships, and has sat in this dry dock since 1954. From here we walked towards Deptford, where one of the first Royal Dockyards was built. Not much is left of the dockyard now, there are only a few buildings that have survived demolition including the Dockyard Office building and the Master Shipwrights House, pictured below.
Along the route, we came across a memorial for Peter the Great, who studied shipbuilding at the Royal Dockyard and then went on to found the Russian Navy. From here, there’s a short walk along the Thames, and then you go inland for a bit and then cut through Pepys Park, and you’re back on the river again.
The first thing I spotted as we approached the river were these steps (left). This is Drake’s steps and is supposedly where my fellow Devonian Sir Francis Drake was knighted on his ship, The Golden Hind by Elizabeth I after circumnavigating the globe. Drake become the first English man to do this.
Continuing along the Thames towards Surrey Quays, you get a great view of the high rise buildings of Canary Wharf. It was time for a rest, and so we stopped off at the café at the Surrey Docks Farm for a coffee and a sausage roll!
We didn’t get a chance to visit the farm, so we will have to come back again, the sausage roll was great though! Newly refreshed, we continued on our way. The path went inland for a bit around the Doubletree Hotel and then back on the river. I popped Cher into her carrying pouch for a bit to give her a rest. I felt like I had to make an excuse to every dog walker I met that I’m carrying her because she’s walked 3 miles, and not because she’s an accessory!
As we passed around the curve of the river, we approached Cumberland Wharf, which has a connection to my home town of Plymouth. It was from here that The Mayflower set sail to the Americas, first stopping at Southampton for supplies and then Plymouth. It left Plymouth on the 6th September 1620.
The sculpture is a representation of the ghost of a pilgrim father, William Bradford, the Governor of the New Plymouth Colony, looking in horror at the comic book being held by the child.
His horror is at how the USA has changed from the puritanical vision that he had when he was alive. The comic, the Sunbeam Weekly used to exist back in the 1930s, hence the name of the sculpture, The Sunbeam Weekly and the Pilgrim’s Pocket.
Moving on, we passed the Mayflower pub, which was a tempting site, but I wanted to finish the walk before I settled down to a relaxing pint! The Brunel museum is also here and another place I will visit when I have time. Next to the museum is St Mary’s Church, where the captain of The Mayflower, Christopher Jones, is buried. He died in 1622, two years after The Mayflower arrived in the Americas.
We re-joined the river at King Stair’s Gardens, and we could see Tower Bridge in the distance, our final destination for today. Not far now! We passed the ruins of King Edward III Manor house, which is opposite the Angel pub, I resisted temptation again!
After passing Bermondsey beach, the path went inland again and then came out on Shad Thames. The path started to get busy now with tourists visiting the many bars and restaurants along this stretch.
We continued along this final stretch. A beer would have been nice, but everywhere was so busy, so I skipped that idea, and we sat down to admire the view. We timed this very well because as we sat the bascules opened on the bridge to let a tall ship pass. What a perfect end to a rather enjoyable and historic walk.
