top of page

A Yearful of London Week 13 A self-guided walk through the Docklands

  • Vanessa
  • May 24, 2016
  • 2 min read

I've got a wonderful friend called Heather. Some reasons (but not all because there are hundreds):

1. She dressed up as a medieval wench for Secret London Runs' murder mystery launch event. And she's agreed to do it again for the Prison Break Run in October! Here's Foxy Toogood in action:

Yep, she's the one in the bonnet, not the sports gear.

2. Heather wheeled me around King's Cross in the cold for hours in my wheelchair - I wanted to visit the Lumiere Festival for my second Yearful of London blog and refused to let a broken leg get in the way.

Ok...it looks like she had a good time too!

3. When I asked her to come to a vigil for the forgotten dead as part of my research for a running tour (In the Shadow of the Shard), she unquestioningly came along. And whilst we were having our pre-vigil tipple, she gave me a lovely gift to say congrats for setting up a wee business.

And this is what my lovely friend Heather has to do with A Yearful of London Week 13.

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, Josh and I trotted off to Canada Water to the start of a hidden walk from the book.

"A trip through Tesco car park to kick things off?" Don't mind if we do.

Soon enough we were at Greenland Dock which is very pretty.

Greenland Dock

"Why 'Greenland'?" you may ask. Well, I think Joshua is about to tell us.

Joshreading

It's called Greenland dock because it was used by the whaling ships from Greenland in the 1700s.

You would have found blubber boiling houses all along one side of the dock.

There were lots of cool things along the walk...

A statue of the famous engineer, James Walker.

Cannons remaining from the days when Deptford was a naval base, initially started up by Henry VIII.

Skulls at the entrance of the church of St Nicholas - to remind visitors of the inevitability of death.

Did you know St Peter the Great of Russia lived in Deptford for 3 months?

Many more revelations on the way that I'll leave to you to discover with your own copy of London's Hidden Walks. The walk is a reminder that every area of London - even those you might not expect like Deptford - is absolutely crammed with history.

Better keep exploring...

Thank you for the gift and for all the support, Heather! So much love!

A Yearful of London is my New Year's Resolution to do something-you-can-only-do-in-London every week in 2016. Loving suggestions, comments and recommendations.


161 Comments


Ez Windows
Ez Windows
21 hours ago

What I liked most about this article was how authentic it felt. You didn’t just throw information together — you actually connected with the reader through your writing. The tone was friendly, warm, and very engaging throughout the post. I also appreciate how simple and readable the language was. Sometimes simple writing creates the biggest impact, and this blog proves that perfectly. Great work and keep sharing such meaningful content.

Like

webmyspin
5 days ago

I loved how organized and clear this post was. Every paragraph added something useful. It was a pleasure to read.

Like

rpeptide555
May 02

This was a well-written and engaging article. I appreciated how clearly the main ideas were presented. Each paragraph added something meaningful. The structure made the content easy to follow. It felt written with readers in mind. Nicely done overall.

Like

footballteamlineups7
May 01

This post was engaging from the start. The ideas flowed nicely. It was both informative and easy to read.

Like

buy compare
buy compare
May 01

I found this blog post very helpful and interesting. The writing style felt natural. It kept my attention throughout.

Like

Join our mailing list

We'll keep you in the loop

Copyright © 2025 | Vanessa Cain-Tait| Secret London Runs Ltd
All Rights Reserved. 

Contact Us

To book a tour or ask a question, get in touch. We'd love to hear from you. Email hello@secretlondonruns.com

Thank you for your enquiry. We'll get back to you soon.

bottom of page