Greenwich – Deptford – Surrey Docks – Butlers Wharf – Tower Bridge – London Bridge

Day two picked up where we left off at the Cutty Sark near Greenwich Pier. There’s so much to see and do in Greenwich, and its hard to walk through London and not stop at 101 different worthy distractions. The previous day’s planned distance was reduced considerably in reality, as it simply too much fun to stop and look at everything. It quickly became clear that the London section of the walk was going to be more about exploring riverside activities than truly hiking away the miles, which was just fine with me.

So, before we got very far along the Greenwich riverbank we stopped and explored the Greenwich Foot Tunnel that takes pedestrians underneath the Thames to the opposite bank.  Its a pretty cool experience and tiring too if you decide to take the stairs rather the lift shaft.

As we were committed to the South Bank, we crossed back again and re-commenced our journey westward.  Deptford came up on us quickly.  Its a less developed, neglected part of the city, and the path took us away from the riverside and into 1960’s urban sprawl.

Although our walk took us down past some less attractive areas of town,  Deptford isn’t without it history or charms. It was also a Saturday, and the first day of the annual London Open House weekend, which I learnt meant that participating private residences or places of interest not normally open to the public were opening their doors so the likes of us could come and have a quick poke around. I had forgotten all about it, but as we walked down the back streets of Deptford, this gate beckoned us forth:

We spent a good hour in there, but eventually returned to the riverside trail, heading westward towards a series of quays.  If yesterday was about old industrial sites meeting new modern trendy London, today was about the quay.  Small marinas and quays were strung out in successions for the next couple of miles.

The last one along this stretch was Surrey Quay, which unexpectedly hosted an organic garden and petting zoo, which seemed like a pleasant place to stop and grab some lunch. They are all set up for toddlers and finger food, but the adult organic restaurant was very good and we enjoyed the animals too!  An unexpected find in London!

The rest of the day’s walk took us past the start of some upmarket housing developments, perched alongside some of London’s older abandoned jetties.  Canary Wharf made a final appearance behind us as we turned the bend onto the final stretch towards Tower Bridge.  Reaching Butler’s Wharf was the start of tourist London, fancy restaurants, and trendy shopping.  Quite a change from just a mile or two up the river.

This day’s photo journal wouldn’t be complete without a picture of our penultimate destination – Tower Bridge – not to be confused with London Bridge our final stop on Day Two, and just a short half mile away.