You should now be standing outside the the viewing platform, which is near the Tower Hill underground station, and over-looking the Tower of London.

Today we will walk through the former London ...

Now turn left to walk down the ramp, and cross under Tower Hill Road via the underpass. In 2000 Stephen B Whatley was commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces to create a series of 30 paintings for H...

As you emerge from the underpass, you have a good view of the Tower of London and its moat.

Veer left to walk alongside it, on the pedestrian path, keeping the tower on your right.

Willia...

Now go under the tunnel. You will pass several murals describing the history of St Katherine's Dock. I will tell you a bit more about this later. At the end of the tunnel, turn right immediately.

Turn right now, to walk between the bridge and the large glass building.

Turn left here and keep going, with the dock basin on your right. Thomas Telford constructed the dock in 1828. The name St. Katherine's comes from the twelfth century religious foundation, which ha...

Stop here while I tell you more about St Katherine's Dock.

St. Katherine's was the first to close after the collapse of the docks in the 1970s, and the first to be converted to modern use - in ...

Turn right and walk to the round building ahead.

The cast iron columns of this round building, now a cafe, were originally supporting columns of the warehouses of the former docks. They have been painted white. You can keep walking now.

Take t...

Turn left to walk over the bridge.

Stop here and look at the lock gates by the river to your right.

They control the water levels so that ships can enter and leave the dock. Except at high tide, the water level of the dock is co...

Now, branch right and continue along St Katherine's Way.

The whole area around here was severely damaged by wartime bombing and has been almost completely redeveloped. The buildings you passed ...

Turn right down this path, and follow the riverside walkway. Follow the sign for the Thames Path.

Here you have fine views of Tower Bridge from the less familiar eastern side, as well as Shad Thames on the South Bank. Stop to take it in.

Over there the former warehouses have been converted ...

Turn right when you reach St Katherine’s Way and carry on to the end of the road. Then branch right at the cross-roads along Wapping High Street.

Stop here.

The green space on your right is the Hermitage Riverside Memorial Garden. Developers had tried to use this derelict land to build luxury apartment blocks, but local people objected. I...

Carry on walking along the riverside past the modern development until you come to a gap where we will turn left to rejoin Wapping High Street. This will take a couple of minutes.

Keep walking.

Look across the river, to where the river Neckingner emerges as we saw earlier. And to the left of the river mouth is the area known as Jacobs Island. Dickens describe this in Oliv...

When you see a modernist bronze sculpture, turn left away from the river along the footpath between the buildings, and cross over the road when you reach Wapping High Street.

Stop by the modern block at 29 Wapping High Street. Here you will see a plaque recalling some of the commodities that were imported into the docks. The plaque reads:
‘Sumatra Court’
This block wa...

When you reach the roundabout, cross over to the right hand side of the road and carry on along Wapping High Street. I will meet you after about 150 metres.

Stop here to look at the former entrance to the London Docks. It’s now covered over but it was between the yellow brick houses. The dock entrance was designed by John Rennie in 1805.

Daniel Ale...

Just before the Town of Ramsgate pub, you will find a narrow alleyway on your right. Walk down it to the end to the river bank. If the tide is out you can descend the steps on to the riverbed, but ...

Walk through the small churchyard to the other end where you exit by the church tower to the right.

This was the churchyard of St John's Wapping. The church itself was built in 1756 in red brick...

Cross over to the other side of Wapping High Street. Immediately on your right is a plaque which states that Orient Wharf was built in 1987-9, for the Toynbee Housing Association. The original 19th...

Veer off the road here, to walk alongside the blue and white building stretching out into the river. This houses the police boats of the Thames River Police. The Thames River Police was established...

The second of the historic riverside pubs commemorates the famous pirate, Captain Kidd. If you're ready for a break, go into the pub and stop for a drink. We only have another 10 minutes to go, so ...

You're now coming up to Wapping Station. Just keep walking past it, along the road while I tell you about the station's history.

The station was originally the North Bank entrance to Marc Brun...

Ahead of you is one of the most spectacular warehouse conversions in Wapping. You see three Victorian warehouses surrounding a cobbled yard. You can still see the letters F, G, H on the outside of ...

Turn right along the street called Wapping Wall and walk to the end. We’re heading for the Prospect of Whitby pub. It’s a few minutes further along, and it’s our last stop.

This street, called Wapping Wall, is so named after the tidal defences built in 1571. These were constructed following a serious flood when the area first came into maritime use during the reign of...

The Prospect of Whitby is the last stop of our walk today. Stop outside it, and I'll tell you about its history. It claims to be the oldest riverside pub in London. It was first built in 1520 and p...