Absolutely fascinating! There's certainly something very soulless about these new developments - a sort of posh equivalent of 60's tower blocks. I wonder if they'll be pulling them down in 40 years time! Who can afford to live in them? A great walk - can't wait for the next!
There will be no need to worry about pulling them don in 40 years time as modern construction, as its desire for profiteering before peoples well being, producuces buildings than will mostly dissolve within 50 years. Sorrowful really, it is part of the reason I couldn't work in construction anymore.
John, an absolutely wonderful walk, very interesting, love how you take the time to point out the little flower growing...nature shouldn't be taken for granted & beauty can be found everywhere if you take the time to look! Great commentary as usual. I so enjoy these very much while enjoying a cup of tea. Thank you...look forward to the next walk with you John.
Hi John I really enjoy you videos. I live in Horncurch and cycle all over and you often film areas where I cycle so it is lovely to get your take on things. I like the way you appreciate some of the small or simple things you come across it a shame more people do not have the same feelings. Although I am retired I have a job at the Excel Centre so you’re walk around that area was fascinating. Both my father in law and my grandfather in law worked in the docks so I have an interest and connection to the area. I have also watched your videos on the river Lea another place I love to cycle and the video on the river crouch along to Burnham. There are some lovely walkers on the black water by Maylandsea along the sea wall and others around Bradwell. All the best and keep making the videos, Jeremy.
it was great eh Rob, I've looked at it on the map lots of times but my focus has usually been elsewhere, when I went down there for the book I considered going around Gallions Point but ran out of time
Rewatching this John, I lived in Cyprus place in the 80’s pre dating all of the new stuff, Bascule bridge was a swing bridge, Galleons reach hotel was derelict and Kubricks Huey’s flew over our house behind the Ferndale pub. I love all your East end adventures, very poignant for me, thanks, it’s great stuff you do🙏🏻
Hi John. Another gorgeous document of the ever changing London. North woolwich was,until recently, the only land north of the Thames that belonged to the county of Kent. I believe it harks back to the conqueror granting the ownership of woolwich to one of his followers. To maximise income from the lucrative ferry route he also granted him a parcel of land north of the river- which became north woolwich. The vast stretches of edge lands all along the Thames have always held a great fascination-I think it’s the beauty of decay. Please explore more. I like the camera shy ‘“local guide” idea.
At the risk of being very repetitive - Wonderful video! I love those places you find sometimes by going in a direction you haven't gone before. Such wonderful character to this area. With all the changes going on I am glad you have recorded this moment - possibly forever. Thanks!
I love the river , with it’s certain loneliness , it’s peaceful but there’s a sadness that perpetuates. Maybe it’s all the souls that have travelled along it over the thousands of years , from soldiers and sailors going to war to criminals being transported to the colonies , I’ve often wondered about the artefacts buried in that mud , thanks John Rogers for another great job 👍🙏🏻
Take a bow for that pathfinding discovery @ 19:05. And that is indeed a wonderful looking little piece of railway architecture near the end. I am hoping that both remain intact.
I am enjoying your walks and am making my way slowly through all your videos. I was born in Stockwell in 1950 but my family moved to Hertford in 1953 when my father took up a job with the local brewers as a maintenance fitter. The woody plant that you named as sea birch is our native "Sea Buckthorn" - Hippophae rhamnoides. The scarlet seed capsule you held in your hand is from our native "Spindle Tree" - Euonymus europaeus. The small tree on the foreshore is a young "False Acacia" or "Black Locust" - Robinia pseudoacacia from the Eastern United States and more less naturalised here especially in old parkland shelterbelts or near railway lines.
Thank you John once again making an interesting video.Brings back memories when I travelled on the old 2 carriage North London Line from Stratford to North Woolwich in the 80's
I am really kind of torn watching your videos. They are just wonderful. Walks in interesting out of the way places, with a history lesson as well. My problem is that I lived in various parts of London in the early 1960s and I moved to Canada and it makes me very nostalgic that these lovely places exist. As far as I recall East London was not somewhere I would have ventured into at that time.
Another brilliant piece of work John, thank you for what you do. The small tree you show at 17;00, we think is robinia, but more likely a rowen tree, but both unlikely growing wild by the Thames. 15;55 - you hold the flower of a spindletree, again unusual for November.
Great piece John. I lived behind the Ferndale pub when Full metal jacket was produced. As kids we roamed the old gasworks and the docks pre airport. Pre gentrification I suppose. Best channel on TH-cam as it takes me back and forwards.👍🏻
Thank you so much for such an informative video. It meant so much to me because I was born and lived in Woolwich for the first twenty five years of my life and would often, as a kid, cross the river on the ferry and explore the some of the area you covered. My impression is that the heart and soul of the area has been torn out of it. This is all the more meaningful as I live in Peru and rarely return to the Woolwich area.
Beautiful video ! I actually saw my living room on Atlantis Ave. In my off days each morning i take that walk along the river starting from the radar towards the marina and it's a very nice way to start my day. Cheers !
Wow!!! Loved it, you should continue that walk towards Wapping and Katherine Docks. A stop off at London’s old pub The Prospect of Whitby. So much history there.
Thanks Michael - great idea, I've been meaning to go back and do a video on the Wapping Old Stairs which is the most popular post on my blog thelostbyway.com/2014/03/old-stairs-of-the-thames-at-wapping-and-shadwell.html There's a good section on Wapping and Shadwell in my film with Iain Sinclair - London Overground which is on my channel here
Great video John!! In the early 90’s I use to work at a publishers in Woolwich Arsenal, lunchtimes I use to get the ferry across the Thames, walk around the park, always loved the station building, then take the foot tunnel back to work. I need to go back soon .. and will! 😃 Cheers Nigel
Only recently discovered your videos and as one who has done walking throughout London I”m loving them! Those colourful semi-round buildings at 7:30 are Univ Of East London student housing. So many interesting out of the way places around here. When you first cross the bridge labelled A117 on the map where you claimed to be near the runways of City Airport, you can get down to the island just below and follow a road with its somewhat wild borders so that you are 10s of metres from the runway. When you leave Gallions Reach DLR and turn right you can stay to your left and walk Armada Way through disrespected marsh land eventually getting to Gallions Reach Shopping Centre but if instead of bearing left, you go straight, cross at the light and walk down Atlantis Way to a small park like area on the Thames for an interesting view of further towards the mouth of the Thames. When you reach the Thames turn right and follow the footpath through overgrown areas to the right and the river on your left. You will walk through some interesting disused land and past some dereliict buildings ending up in a boatyard and back to the bridge mentioned above. So many abandoned nooks and crannies in this area. I’m stuck in Covid 19 lockdown but you’ve really sparked some wonderful memories!
Another brilliant video by you .Had a few family members working as dockers in the old Royal docks around late 70s to mid 80s At the time myself was living in Poplar /Bow and the new development were taken place around Canary Wharf. Thanks again John👍
Wow! Amazing video, great to learn the history of the places that I’ve frequented many times and always wondered. Spent many good days at Gallions Point Marina around the time of the Olympics. Watching the planes land at City Airport. If you could jump high enough you would touch the belly of the planes! Always wondered what the tower was to the left and now I know its the Barking Creek Barrier. Walking along the river towards the radar tower use to see people down at the bank fishing. Drove by last month and it’s all changing.
You don't need to apologise for your housing comments. Developments like these are for profit, not people. And perhaps the occasional barbed comment may prick the conscience of those agencies that give the green light to profit over people, especially in such a time of need.
Are there not people living in these houses then? Are they not human? The point is there is huge demand for these privately owned developments and they will be snapped up in no time by many people who can obviously afford to buy them.
High John very interesting and jaw dropping from my perspective . This seams to be modern development on a massive scale ,Sydney is changing some what on smaller scale. So well put together thanks as always George.
thanks George - yes London is going through massive change at the moment. I actually caught up with an old friend from Sydney at the weekend and sounds like it's changed a fair bit since I was last there in 2001.
Although as spelt Lesnes, I can see where you’re coming from. Additionally, there is still a foot tunnel under the Thames running directly under the line of the Woolwich car ferry above. And not far from the City Airport runway bridge, we have both, now, stood on. That may be the one you mention. Its twin runs under the Thames at Greenwich from the Cutty Sark to Isle of Dogs.
A wonderful walk, full of interesting facts, vistas and secret pockets - thank you, John and guide. A strange dreamlike view across the river (20:04) from the skeletal ship remains to those step pyramids - where I imagine the occupants performing ritual sacrifices to the river gods before donning their business suits and commuting to work.
No, I don't know his books - have just googled his work now - it looks brilliant and I will definitely give it a try ... thank you for that reference / pointer...
Great stuff John, love your content. I first visited area for “raving” purposes. The old pavilion hotel, as you approached the ferry used to have the most “liberal” for want of a better word club nights. I was always struck by how much it reminded me of the dock landscapes of the Humber where I grew up and felt quite at home. The sarf Londoners i work with tell of going over on the ferry on a friday with their dads to pick up their wages, imagine what it was like in those days? Looks like you were there about a week or so after my last trek. So glad it captured your heart too. 🍻
At 7:42 you point out some colourful round buildings and mention the area is called Cyprus. Cyprus is a campus of the University of East London and those round buildings are student dormitories. There is one amazing feature (at least last time I was there 2 years ago) is the highway ramp that ends jutting off into space. Leaving Gallions Reach DLR you turn right and cross the highway and then I think you take the first left and walk up the hill. Boom! There’s also a bit of woods there and you can work your way down to under the highway off ramp into a strange unique landscape
North Woolwich station closed in December 2006, but had been using a single-platform and shelter behind the grand old building for some time. Trains did originally run through to Palace Gates via Seven Sisters, but by the 1960s they were terminated at Stratford as you remember. Some GLC investment in the 80s resulted in an electrified service through to Dalston Junction, then eventually on to Richmond via the North London Line.
Its noticeable that many new developments never seem to be occupied by people.Ols streets contained real people.Although people live her you rarely see anyone so the feel like sterile environments.
Great video, I’m thrilled I found your channel. I grew up in the area on the south side of the river. I’ve never heard of the s’ being dropped from lesnes abbey. All the locals I’ve ever heard pronounce them.
Interesting history to the Galyons Reach pub. In 1878 Gallions Reach was the scene of the Thames’ worst ever disaster, when the Princess Alice pleasure steamer sank with the loss of more than 600 lives. Also between 1881 and 1883 it was used by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company to accommodate travellers who were halting overnight. Rudyard Kipling stayed at the hotel when he was setting off for India. The pub is said to be haunted but to me was simply a good place to stop for coffee mid walk. Love the videos, thank you.
most enjoyable John.. lots of new stuff overlooking the old, like the rotting boat.everywhere we go there the past rotting away, like boatyards and railway sidings. nice to see the old rail station and the autumn colours in the park.
@@JohnRogersWalks I like the video u did on London Cyprus that was interesting. Very windy I wanna stay the night in one of those little dome house's. Wish I could go now. Lol
I bought a brand new Wimpey house in Mid-Beckton in 1985,as with a family on the way and wanting a garden at £39K it was affordable"they are now going for around £350K" The North London Line was still going in those days from a makeshift platform next to the old station,and we used to take the kid`s direct to Kew Gardens (no changing)for the day. The Old Station was for a time a Museum with the offices and booking hall preserved as they were in Victorian times,they even had roaring coal fires.Pity it `s now closed,but with free admission I guess it was too expensive to maintain.
thanks for sharing that Anthony - it's easy to forget there was a time when London had affordable housing to buy. I wonder if they shut the branch to Woolwich because of the DLR - that line is really busy these days, shame it's not still running
@@JohnRogersWalks DLR started 1987,but only really served Stratford to Island Gardens.When it was extended to Beckton,& Canning Town it ran parallel to the old Woolwich branch so it had to close,but they could have kept the old station.I would have thought it would be a good business prospect for someone Trendy bar or similar,as lots of well minted folks moving to the area,as you noted.The pub near the foot tunnel was known to locals as "The Courage" due to the huge brewers sign designed to be read from the far side of the river.That pub featured in the Bob Hoskins/Mickey Rourke film "A Prayer For The Dying"In the early 80`s.I remember when we first moved in driving down Woolwich Manor Way,and wondering what all the Palm trees were doing there.
Interesting place that part of the world. So much development it's mind boggling. You could get lost in all those walkways and alleys leading to the river. Great vid thanks to guest. 👍😁
I was born in silvertown as were my parents and grandparents. North woolwich and silvertown were communities where everybody knew their neighbours and for me a great place to live . Woolwich park was our playground, as kids we would spend hours on the woolwich ferry going backwards and forwards across the river just for the fun of it. The bridgers were something we hoped for in the mornings as it would mean we missed a few minutes of school 😊. It was never a wealthy area but a thriving industry at the time. Generations of families worked in the busy docks or in Tate and Lyle or the other companies along Factory road The people who lived there were good honest , hardworking people who looked out for each other. Sadly from the 80s it went into decline, the docks had closed and the area was left to die. The older locals who had lived there for years passed and families began to move away. It is being redeveloped now but sadly it seems to have lost its soul. That soul was made of the generations of East Enders who lived and worked there and made it a community . The huge ships from all over the world that came to unload goods into the docks (The sound of them blasting their horns at midnight on New Year’s Eve was a thing of magic). the many families and workers in the factories and docks who for me made Silvertown and Woolwich a great place to have been brought up and to have once called my home.
Hi John. Great video as always. Have you explored the wild areas around Watford yet? I recommend The Ebury Way and the abandoned Watford West station and train lines.
I just had this flash that in 100 years time, there will be someone taking walks around London using your video guides, to show how old London (early 21st Cent) people lived.
I got stuck waiting for bridge and in a came a SuperYacht for Boat Show at Excell a couple of years ago.. The Ness was hard to navigate in sailing ships and they had to towed by ships boat rowed before the days of tugs..
Really enjoying your videos, I recently discovered them. I lived in Beckton 15 years ago. Looks like there will be big changes in the area coming. Keep walking!
Funny that you mention Richard Mabey's "The Unofficial Countryside": I bought that book at Daunt Books in Cheapside on my first and only (so far) trip to the Motherland back in 2013, which led to me start reading much more British writing on edgelands and nature, which then led me eventually to your channel. Have you ever seen Mabey's BBC presentation of the book (from 1975 or so)?
It's the great book of the edgelands. Funnily BBC Newsnight picked up on my London Perambulator film and did their own feature on Nick Papadimitriou and Deep Topography and they interviewed Richard Mabey as well. You can find it here on TH-cam. I haven't watched all of the original programme only bits
Mick Burpitt John, fantastic and gentle ramble around the Royal and Albert docks and a tiny section of the Thames paths. If I may I can add to your information about the area around the paths and lock gates and how they functioned for the men who worked there. The original bridge did in deed cause "bridgers". However a wise local business would know when the bridge was up their employee could get off the bus and cross the lock gates to pick up a bus on the other side of the lock. The ship builders Harland & Wolf, occupying the adjacent site which extended along the riverside to Barge House Road, had a large workforce who had direct access across both the lock gates straight into the works. So when the bus stopped you leapt off, ran down the steps and across the lock gates, no excuse for lateness. Incidentally the large ornate entrance gates to the Harland & Wolf works are now positioned in Lyle Park , Silver Town. What is now Albert Island had a swing bridge to allow the ships through into the dock and the same procedure could be used to avoid both the bascule bridge and the swing bridge. Where you climbed over the flood defence wall was/is the path which joined the two routes together. What's worth noting here is today we often refer to "a bus", singular. This was not the case when the docks were operating at full steam. Each side of a "bridger" could be 4, 5 or 6 buses, stationary, packed with men trying to get to work. Our modern concept of late does not apply here. It was not the boss you answered too, it was your wife! These men were on the "clock", losing 15 minutes from your pay was significant when you were earning 30 bob a week! Consequently there would be a mass exodus from each vehicle on both sides of the lock culminating in hundreds of men running across the two set of gates. It was quite a sight. The slipway at the bottom of Barge House Road was, I believe, constructed by Napoleonic prisoners of war to vitul (?) ships at low water. This very long slipway, I'm told, is the only FOC slipway on the Thames and remains subject to a number of entities claiming legal jurisdiction and many other negative issues in a similar fashion to the river side paths between and over the two locks. As there are regular attempts to close off these accesses and open spaces to the public we all need to keep constant watch. I could write endlessly on the subject of riverside access in Woolwich but, another time perhaps. And with a lawyer in tow! Thanks again John, terrific job.
Great video John, I recognised where you were when you walked across the first bridge (the one at the end of the city airport runway) because not far from it is Factory Road and the Tate and Lyle sugar factory that I have delivered to on numerous occasions 👍☺️
North woolwich originally opened in 1847 , it had a sister station North woolwich pier station , the remnants were seen in your last shots of a burnt out building by the Thames which was fire damaged in the eighties by yobs , that was the connection to the river services and commerce use .,
Ah the drawbridge - I think it must be the one where we used to get held up in the 1960s on the 101 bus from North Woolwich to East Ham. There was also a swingbridge that went up sideways. Sometimes the bus would stop for ages at both of them and we'd see the big ships going through - especially the North Star Lines as I remember.
New developments = the empty quarter. No kids playing ball, no housewives chatting, no corner boozer having a knees up. Just someone talking into their phone while the wind whips off the Thames. A fascinating excursion all the same.
thanks Borderlands - I guess these places take time to develop a character, although interestingly East Village in the Olympic Park seems to have stagnated since the rent rises
This just popped up again. Update Albert Island closed off since Easter 2022 so building works soon to commence. Shall we continue along up to old Silvertown, John, have u done that yet? Hope all well with you!
Slipway is i think Bsrgehoude Road ? The sailing barges tied up in the roads waiting for work poor mans reach i was told it was known as when docks in declined.
The best bit is the foot tunnel. Off peak times, it's practically deserted. If you find yourself down there on your own, try out the sound waves. They're almost tangible.
That univerty campus is the old gas works that Kubrick used for the location in Full Metal Jacket, that is why there are Halls of Residence buildings shaped like cylinders in those strange colours. It also means that it has all the bonus noise of City Airport, or at least the planes taking off and landing. It was not a great learning environment of experience.
I know you mostly do your walks on Sunday, but are these places always deserted? Does anyone actually live there? great videos Mr Rogers, my favourite channel .
for sure Karl - I made a short one day there around 2010 (see Notebooks) - but I'm holding to see if I'll be collaborating with someone on a project down there
Absolutely fascinating! There's certainly something very soulless about these new developments - a sort of posh equivalent of 60's tower blocks. I wonder if they'll be pulling them down in 40 years time! Who can afford to live in them? A great walk - can't wait for the next!
thanks Douglas - yes it makes you wonder about the build quality particularly compared to the fantastic brick LCC estates that still look fantastic
There will be no need to worry about pulling them don in 40 years time as modern construction, as its desire for profiteering before peoples well being, producuces buildings than will mostly dissolve within 50 years. Sorrowful really, it is part of the reason I couldn't work in construction anymore.
Thanks John, another thought provoking film showing old and new London. Always informative, always beautifully shot, and always a delight.
John Rogers 🍺🍺
John, an absolutely wonderful walk, very interesting, love how you take the time to point out the little flower growing...nature shouldn't be taken for granted & beauty can be found everywhere if you take the time to look! Great commentary as usual. I so enjoy these very much while enjoying a cup of tea. Thank you...look forward to the next walk with you John.
Thanks very much K. Just finished editing the next walk, it was a great experience and I’m happy with the video. I’ll post Wednesday
Hi John I really enjoy you videos. I live in Horncurch and cycle all over and you often film areas where I cycle so it is lovely to get your take on things. I like the way you appreciate some of the small or simple things you come across it a shame more people do not have the same feelings. Although I am retired I have a job at the Excel Centre so you’re walk around that area was fascinating. Both my father in law and my grandfather in law worked in the docks so I have an interest and connection to the area. I have also watched your videos on the river Lea another place I love to cycle and the video on the river crouch along to Burnham. There are some lovely walkers on the black water by Maylandsea along the sea wall and others around Bradwell. All the best and keep making the videos, Jeremy.
Brilliant stuff John, loved that wee path you found climbing over the fence. Thanks to the mysterious guide as well.
I loved that bit. How rare to find a part of London unfamiliar to John, and then a place where almost nobody must ever go.
thanks Jag - that was a great find, a little secluded beach, I'd love to find out more about that boat
it was great eh Rob, I've looked at it on the map lots of times but my focus has usually been elsewhere, when I went down there for the book I considered going around Gallions Point but ran out of time
Rewatching this John, I lived in Cyprus place in the 80’s pre dating all of the new stuff, Bascule bridge was a swing bridge, Galleons reach hotel was derelict and Kubricks Huey’s flew over our house behind the Ferndale pub. I love all your East end adventures, very poignant for me, thanks, it’s great stuff you do🙏🏻
Hi John. Another gorgeous document of the ever changing London. North woolwich was,until recently, the only land north of the Thames that belonged to the county of Kent. I believe it harks back to the conqueror granting the ownership of woolwich to one of his followers. To maximise income from the lucrative ferry route he also granted him a parcel of land north of the river- which became north woolwich.
The vast stretches of edge lands all along the Thames have always held a great fascination-I think it’s the beauty of decay. Please explore more. I like the camera shy ‘“local guide” idea.
thanks for that background gideon - I was wondering what the story was but had no idea it went back that far
At the risk of being very repetitive - Wonderful video! I love those places you find sometimes by going in a direction you haven't gone before. Such wonderful character to this area. With all the changes going on I am glad you have recorded this moment - possibly forever. Thanks!
I love the river , with it’s certain loneliness , it’s peaceful but there’s a sadness that perpetuates. Maybe it’s all the souls that have travelled along it over the thousands of years , from soldiers and sailors going to war to criminals being transported to the colonies , I’ve often wondered about the artefacts buried in that mud , thanks John Rogers for another great job 👍🙏🏻
You're welcome mate
Take a bow for that pathfinding discovery @ 19:05. And that is indeed a wonderful looking little piece of railway architecture near the end. I am hoping that both remain intact.
I am enjoying your walks and am making my way slowly through all your videos. I was born in Stockwell in 1950 but my family moved to Hertford in 1953 when my father took up a job with the local brewers as a maintenance fitter. The woody plant that you named as sea birch is our native "Sea Buckthorn" - Hippophae rhamnoides. The scarlet seed capsule you held in your hand is from our native "Spindle Tree" - Euonymus europaeus. The small tree on the foreshore is a young "False Acacia" or "Black Locust" - Robinia pseudoacacia from the Eastern United States and more less naturalised here especially in old parkland shelterbelts or near railway lines.
brilliant notes - many thanks for sharing your knowledge
Thank you John once again making an interesting video.Brings back memories when I travelled on the old 2 carriage North London Line from Stratford to North Woolwich in the 80's
thanks Humble - funny I travelled on that line loads in the early 90's but don't remember ever going beyond Stratford
@@JohnRogersWalks Hi John from memory I think it went from Stratford to Gospel Oak
@@humble4533 And on to Richmond I believe - I used to travel from Camden to Richmond on that line in the early 80s.
Great walk. I love your attitude towards life.
thanks very much Baz
wow! that was fantastic.. the little woodland with the beach was amazing the thames has a different atmosphere when you're on her level.
that was probably my favourite moment on the walk - will have to go back for a paddle in the summer
It's amazing how much has changed in such a short time. Thank you for showing the different areas.
Incredible eh Jonathan and a lot more change on the way
What a pleasure to watch your walks
Thanks Alfie - it’s a real pleasure to share them
I am really kind of torn watching your videos. They are just wonderful. Walks in interesting out of the way places, with a history lesson as well. My problem is that I lived in various parts of London in the early 1960s and I moved to Canada and it makes me very nostalgic that these lovely places exist. As far as I recall East London was not somewhere I would have ventured into at that time.
Me again. basically, John, you’ve covered again an area that has fascinated me since 1949, and which I too have largely explored many times.
It's a fascinating area Josephine, I need to get back down there
Missed this one at the time, but another lovely walk. Thanks John, and mystery guide!
Thanks Nic
Another brilliant piece of work John, thank you for what you do.
The small tree you show at 17;00, we think is robinia, but more likely a rowen tree, but both unlikely growing wild by the Thames. 15;55 - you hold the flower of a spindletree, again unusual for November.
Brilliant thanks Little Acorns - you’re a constant fountain of knowledge
A rowan by the Thames - that would be amazing, but I don't think it was, Pity we didn't get to see it closer.
Great piece John. I lived behind the Ferndale pub when Full metal jacket was produced. As kids we roamed the old gasworks and the docks pre airport. Pre gentrification I suppose. Best channel on TH-cam as it takes me back and forwards.👍🏻
thanks for that comment Tom - what a great time of transition that you experienced
Thank you so much for such an informative video. It meant so much to me because I was born and lived in Woolwich for the first twenty five years of my life and would often, as a kid, cross the river on the ferry and explore the some of the area you covered. My impression is that the heart and soul of the area has been torn out of it. This is all the more meaningful as I live in Peru and rarely return to the Woolwich area.
Beautiful video ! I actually saw my living room on Atlantis Ave. In my off days each morning i take that walk along the river starting from the radar towards the marina and it's a very nice way to start my day. Cheers !
Hidden gems that John does find,
Making impressions upon the mind,
To the backwater the music plays,
Feeling the flow, of a hikers daze...
wonderful stuff Simon - many thanks
This channel is a blessing.
Wow!!! Loved it, you should continue that walk towards Wapping and Katherine Docks. A stop off at London’s old pub The Prospect of Whitby. So much history there.
I second that. Your round Michael.
Thanks Michael - great idea, I've been meaning to go back and do a video on the Wapping Old Stairs which is the most popular post on my blog thelostbyway.com/2014/03/old-stairs-of-the-thames-at-wapping-and-shadwell.html
There's a good section on Wapping and Shadwell in my film with Iain Sinclair - London Overground which is on my channel here
Great video John!!
In the early 90’s I use to work at a publishers in Woolwich Arsenal, lunchtimes I use to get the ferry across the Thames, walk around the park, always loved the station building, then take the foot tunnel back to work. I need to go back soon .. and will! 😃
Cheers Nigel
Only recently discovered your videos and as one who has done walking throughout London I”m loving them! Those colourful semi-round buildings at 7:30 are Univ Of East London student housing. So many interesting out of the way places around here. When you first cross the bridge labelled A117 on the map where you claimed to be near the runways of City Airport, you can get down to the island just below and follow a road with its somewhat wild borders so that you are 10s of metres from the runway. When you leave Gallions Reach DLR and turn right you can stay to your left and walk Armada Way through disrespected marsh land eventually getting to Gallions Reach Shopping Centre but if instead of bearing left, you go straight, cross at the light and walk down Atlantis Way to a small park like area on the Thames for an interesting view of further towards the mouth of the Thames. When you reach the Thames turn right and follow the footpath through overgrown areas to the right and the river on your left. You will walk through some interesting disused land and past some dereliict buildings ending up in a boatyard and back to the bridge mentioned above. So many abandoned nooks and crannies in this area. I’m stuck in Covid 19 lockdown but you’ve really sparked some wonderful memories!
thanks for those notes Eric - I might try and get back down there again soon.
Another brilliant video by you .Had a few family members working as dockers in the old Royal docks around late 70s to mid 80s At the time myself was living in Poplar /Bow and the new development were taken place around Canary Wharf. Thanks again John👍
Many thanks for this video. Fascinating.
Stunning
thanks Chris
Excellent video as always John. Best channel on TH-cam👍🏻
thank you so much
Wow! Amazing video, great to learn the history of the places that I’ve frequented many times and always wondered. Spent many good days at Gallions Point Marina around the time of the Olympics. Watching the planes land at City Airport. If you could jump high enough you would touch the belly of the planes! Always wondered what the tower was to the left and now I know its the Barking Creek Barrier. Walking along the river towards the radar tower use to see people down at the bank fishing. Drove by last month and it’s all changing.
You don't need to apologise for your housing comments. Developments like these are for profit, not people. And perhaps the occasional barbed comment may prick the conscience of those agencies that give the green light to profit over people, especially in such a time of need.
thanks Paul - appreciated
Hear hear !
Thanks once again john, actually I was at the ex-olympic village near there today for the somme tribute--very moving.
Are there not people living in these houses then? Are they not human? The point is there is huge demand for these privately owned developments and they will be snapped up in no time by many people who can obviously afford to buy them.
Your comment did make me laugh. People before profit?? Don't be silly.
Loved this walk John the old station and pumping house was lovely to see also the pleasure garden x
thanks Norma
I always enjoy your walks, 😊
Thanks Eileen
Once again,another wonderful video.
Cheers,John.
thanks nobbilc
High John very interesting and jaw dropping from my perspective . This seams to be modern development on a massive scale ,Sydney is changing some what on smaller scale. So well put together thanks as always George.
thanks George - yes London is going through massive change at the moment. I actually caught up with an old friend from Sydney at the weekend and sounds like it's changed a fair bit since I was last there in 2001.
Although as spelt Lesnes, I can see where you’re coming from.
Additionally, there is still a foot tunnel under the Thames running directly under the line of the Woolwich car ferry above. And not far from the City Airport runway bridge, we have both, now, stood on. That may be the one you mention. Its twin runs under the Thames at Greenwich from the Cutty Sark to Isle of Dogs.
A wonderful walk, full of interesting facts, vistas and secret pockets - thank you, John and guide. A strange dreamlike view across the river (20:04) from the skeletal ship remains to those step pyramids - where I imagine the occupants performing ritual sacrifices to the river gods before donning their business suits and commuting to work.
fantastic comment as always Mariana, wonderful image - have you read the Ben Aaronovitch novels? you'll enjoy Rivers of London
No, I don't know his books - have just googled his work now - it looks brilliant and I will definitely give it a try ... thank you for that reference / pointer...
Great stuff John, love your content. I first visited area for “raving” purposes. The old pavilion hotel, as you approached the ferry used to have the most “liberal” for want of a better word club nights. I was always struck by how much it reminded me of the dock landscapes of the Humber where I grew up and felt quite at home. The sarf Londoners i work with tell of going over on the ferry on a friday with their dads to pick up their wages, imagine what it was like in those days? Looks like you were there about a week or so after my last trek. So glad it captured your heart too. 🍻
thanks for sharing that note Jobrimar82 - I need to go back to test out the new ferries
Hi there, yep, me too. Good to be there when the tide is low for some mudlark-esqe ramblings.
Very nice thanks for that i enjoyed watching this morning from a islander!
Brilliant- thanks Mabel
At 7:42 you point out some colourful round buildings and mention the area is called Cyprus. Cyprus is a campus of the University of East London and those round buildings are student dormitories. There is one amazing feature (at least last time I was there 2 years ago) is the highway ramp that ends jutting off into space. Leaving Gallions Reach DLR you turn right and cross the highway and then I think you take the first left and walk up the hill. Boom! There’s also a bit of woods there and you can work your way down to under the highway off ramp into a strange unique landscape
North Woolwich station closed in December 2006, but had been using a single-platform and shelter behind the grand old building for some time. Trains did originally run through to Palace Gates via Seven Sisters, but by the 1960s they were terminated at Stratford as you remember. Some GLC investment in the 80s resulted in an electrified service through to Dalston Junction, then eventually on to Richmond via the North London Line.
Thanks so much for that info Mike
Thanks John; much appreciated. Enjoyable music and videography to compliment the narrative.
thanks Arthur
👀 Looking through your eyes, I see so many interesting things that I wouldn’t have noticed/been interested in. Thanks.
Cyprus named after Cyprus Place which was group houses/prefabs and a Pub..
Thanks Chris - it’s always intrigued me
really enjoying your work John. London is so much more than people think it is
Yet another brilliant film John! Thanks!
Thanks Jonny
John Rogers the offer of a Manchester walk is still open!
Its noticeable that many new developments never seem to be occupied by people.Ols streets contained real people.Although people live her you rarely see anyone so the feel like sterile environments.
Really eye opening film, so beautiful. Thank you. Scared of them river bends now though!
Lovely John
thanks Leo
Great video, I’m thrilled I found your channel. I grew up in the area on the south side of the river. I’ve never heard of the s’ being dropped from lesnes abbey. All the locals I’ve ever heard pronounce them.
Thanks Dave. There’s also the oddity that the Abbey is called Lesnes and the common Lessness
Thanks John, really enjoyed that.
Thanks Tony
'Drenched in story and lore, bursting with narrative...' what a poetic phrase plucked from thin air.
Interesting history to the Galyons Reach pub. In 1878 Gallions Reach was the scene of the Thames’ worst ever disaster, when the Princess Alice pleasure steamer sank with the loss of more than 600 lives.
Also between 1881 and 1883 it was used by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company to accommodate travellers who were halting overnight. Rudyard Kipling stayed at the hotel when he was setting off for India. The pub is said to be haunted but to me was simply a good place to stop for coffee mid walk.
Love the videos, thank you.
most enjoyable John.. lots of new stuff overlooking the old, like the rotting boat.everywhere we go there the past rotting away, like boatyards and railway sidings. nice to see the old rail station and the autumn colours in the park.
This was great.
thanks monty
@@JohnRogersWalks I like the video u did on London Cyprus that was interesting. Very windy I wanna stay the night in one of those little dome house's. Wish I could go now. Lol
Wonderful world right on my doorstep, I need to get out and explore, thanks John
Excellent journey. Big thanks to your 'mystery' guide today. :-)
Great video John very interesting
thanks Paul
I bought a brand new Wimpey house in Mid-Beckton in 1985,as with a family on the way and wanting a garden at £39K it was affordable"they are now going for around £350K"
The North London Line was still going in those days from a makeshift platform next to the old station,and we used to take the kid`s direct to Kew Gardens (no changing)for the day.
The Old Station was for a time a Museum with the offices and booking hall preserved as they were in Victorian times,they even had roaring coal fires.Pity it `s now closed,but with free admission I guess it was too expensive to maintain.
thanks for sharing that Anthony - it's easy to forget there was a time when London had affordable housing to buy. I wonder if they shut the branch to Woolwich because of the DLR - that line is really busy these days, shame it's not still running
@@JohnRogersWalks DLR started 1987,but only really served Stratford to Island Gardens.When it was extended to Beckton,& Canning Town it ran parallel to the old Woolwich branch so it had to close,but they could have kept the old station.I would have thought it would be a good business prospect for someone Trendy bar or similar,as lots of well minted folks moving to the area,as you noted.The pub near the foot tunnel was known to locals as "The Courage" due to the huge brewers sign designed to be read from the far side of the river.That pub featured in the Bob Hoskins/Mickey Rourke film "A Prayer For The Dying"In the early 80`s.I remember when we first moved in driving down Woolwich Manor Way,and wondering what all the Palm trees were doing there.
Fascinating, and depressing re. the new developments. Thanks to you and mystery man.
Magical content, indeed.
thanks tw eek
Interesting place that part of the world. So much development it's mind boggling. You could get lost in all those walkways and alleys leading to the river.
Great vid thanks to guest.
👍😁
Love your videos, almost spiritual.
thank you Notherian - I think walking is almost a spiritual experience at times
Excellent work as ever.
Just about to move into one of those development next week, Area looks amazing thanks for the video!
Walked past that marina today - all seems to be still there
that's good to hear
I was born in silvertown as were my parents and grandparents. North woolwich and silvertown were communities where everybody knew their neighbours and for me a great place to live . Woolwich park was our playground, as kids we would spend hours on the woolwich ferry going backwards and forwards across the river just for the fun of it. The bridgers were something we hoped for in the mornings as it would mean we missed a few minutes of school 😊. It was never a wealthy area but a thriving industry at the time. Generations of families worked in the busy docks or in Tate and Lyle or the other companies along Factory road The people who lived there were good honest , hardworking people who looked out for each other. Sadly from the 80s it went into decline, the docks had closed and the area was left to die. The older locals who had lived there for years passed and families began to move away.
It is being redeveloped now but sadly it seems to have lost its soul. That soul was made of the generations of East Enders who lived and worked there and made it a community . The huge ships from all over the world that came to unload goods into the docks (The sound of them blasting their horns at midnight on New Year’s Eve was a thing of magic). the many families and workers in the factories and docks who for me made Silvertown and Woolwich a great place to have been brought up and to have once called my home.
Hi John. Great video as always. Have you explored the wild areas around Watford yet? I recommend The Ebury Way and the abandoned Watford West station and train lines.
No I haven’t Jason that’s a great tip thanks
@@JohnRogersWalks My pleasure. Just moved here myself. There's some interesting stuff here. Me and the dog are still finding stuff.
Its strange, Woolwich seems to be the only place i know of, which spans both sides of the Thames. (maybe Richmond as well, but i'm not sure)
I just had this flash that in 100 years time, there will be someone taking walks around London using your video guides, to show how old London (early 21st Cent) people lived.
that's a great image Glen
Wonderful video John well done indeed some hidden gems amazing stuff
Thanks Brian
I got stuck waiting for bridge and in a came a SuperYacht for Boat Show at Excell a couple of years ago..
The Ness was hard to navigate in sailing ships and they had to towed by ships boat rowed before the days of tugs..
I loved this video and thanks for bringing up the housing problem its a huge issue and should be dealt with.
Really enjoying your videos, I recently discovered them. I lived in Beckton 15 years ago. Looks like there will be big changes in the area coming. Keep walking!
Thanks Tom - welcome to the channel
I’m off to Beijing to work soon so I won’t be able to enjoy your videos for a while. I shall miss them!
I should explain: no YT in the Middle Kingdom.
have an amazing time Redford - the videos will be here when you return
it's 2021 now but Im in China watching these videos and watching youtube for the last 11 years - you gotta use a VPN!
Funny that you mention Richard Mabey's "The Unofficial Countryside": I bought that book at Daunt Books in Cheapside on my first and only (so far) trip to the Motherland back in 2013, which led to me start reading much more British writing on edgelands and nature, which then led me eventually to your channel. Have you ever seen Mabey's BBC presentation of the book (from 1975 or so)?
It's the great book of the edgelands. Funnily BBC Newsnight picked up on my London Perambulator film and did their own feature on Nick Papadimitriou and Deep Topography and they interviewed Richard Mabey as well. You can find it here on TH-cam. I haven't watched all of the original programme only bits
Mick Burpitt
John, fantastic and gentle ramble around the Royal and Albert docks and a tiny section of the Thames paths. If I may I can add to your information about the area around the paths and lock gates and how they functioned for the men who worked there.
The original bridge did in deed cause "bridgers". However a wise local business would know when the bridge was up their employee could get off the bus and cross the lock gates to pick up a bus on the other side of the lock. The ship builders Harland & Wolf, occupying the adjacent site which extended along the riverside to Barge House Road, had a large workforce who had direct access across both the lock gates straight into the works. So when the bus stopped you leapt off, ran down the steps and across the lock gates, no excuse for lateness. Incidentally the large ornate entrance gates to the Harland & Wolf works are now positioned in Lyle Park , Silver Town.
What is now Albert Island had a swing bridge to allow the ships through into the dock and the same procedure could be used to avoid both the bascule bridge and the swing bridge. Where you climbed over the flood defence wall was/is the path which joined the two routes together. What's worth noting here is today we often refer to "a bus", singular. This was not the case when the docks were operating at full steam. Each side of a "bridger" could be 4, 5 or 6 buses, stationary, packed with men trying to get to work. Our modern concept of late does not apply here. It was not the boss you answered too, it was your wife! These men were on the "clock", losing 15 minutes from your pay was significant when you were earning 30 bob a week! Consequently there would be a mass exodus from each vehicle on both sides of the lock culminating in hundreds of men running across the two set of gates. It was quite a sight.
The slipway at the bottom of Barge House Road was, I believe, constructed by Napoleonic prisoners of war to vitul (?) ships at low water. This very long slipway, I'm told, is the only FOC slipway on the Thames and remains subject to a number of entities claiming legal jurisdiction and many other negative issues in a similar fashion to the river side paths between and over the two locks. As there are regular attempts to close off these accesses and open spaces to the public we all need to keep constant watch. I could write endlessly on the subject of riverside access in Woolwich but, another time perhaps. And with a lawyer in tow!
Thanks again John, terrific job.
An area that potentially had nothing to offer of interest, yet had almost every thing once you explored it.
thanks so much Theo - my local guide really opened my eyes
Great video John, I recognised where you were when you walked across the first bridge (the one at the end of the city airport runway) because not far from it is Factory Road and the Tate and Lyle sugar factory that I have delivered to on numerous occasions 👍☺️
Thanks Ronnie - Tate & Lyle is such a marker, I’d love to go inside one day
@@JohnRogersWalks they're mad on health and safety so you'll probably have to sneak in 😂
@@ronnieadam66 I spoke to the PR dept earlier in the year for something else I was working on, I suppose there's no harm asking for this channel
@@JohnRogersWalks absolutely not, you might be surprised.
wow, just wow! I used to go to the Uni over there aross form the airport, I had no idea about this.. i mossed out on some nice walks, lol
Slipway was in Bargehouse road and opposite was Poor Mans Reach where the barges would sit waiting while skippers were looking for cargoes..
Cyprus = Cyprus Place a village of prefabs and Ferndale Pub andvfew associated streets.
North woolwich originally opened in 1847 , it had a sister station North woolwich pier station , the remnants were seen in your last shots of a burnt out building by the Thames which was fire damaged in the eighties by yobs , that was the connection to the river services and commerce use .,
Thanks so much for the info
John Rogers your very welcome !
👍👍👍nice one john 👍
thanks H man
Great video.
Ah the drawbridge - I think it must be the one where we used to get held up in the 1960s on the 101 bus from North Woolwich to East Ham. There was also a swingbridge that went up sideways. Sometimes the bus would stop for ages at both of them and we'd see the big ships going through - especially the North Star Lines as I remember.
New developments = the empty quarter. No kids playing ball, no housewives chatting, no corner boozer having a knees up. Just someone talking into their phone while the wind whips off the Thames. A fascinating excursion all the same.
thanks Borderlands - I guess these places take time to develop a character, although interestingly East Village in the Olympic Park seems to have stagnated since the rent rises
loved being with you
This just popped up again. Update Albert Island closed off since Easter 2022 so building works soon to commence.
Shall we continue along up to old Silvertown, John, have u done that yet? Hope all well with you!
Slipway is i think Bsrgehoude Road ?
The sailing barges tied up in the roads waiting for work poor mans reach i was told it was known as when docks in declined.
Thanks for the info Chris
Thanks for the info Chris
The best bit is the foot tunnel. Off peak times, it's practically deserted. If you find yourself down there on your own, try out the sound waves. They're almost tangible.
That univerty campus is the old gas works that Kubrick used for the location in Full Metal Jacket, that is why there are Halls of Residence buildings shaped like cylinders in those strange colours. It also means that it has all the bonus noise of City Airport, or at least the planes taking off and landing. It was not a great learning environment of experience.
It's so interesting seeing where I live from the other side of the river
I know you mostly do your walks on Sunday, but are these places always deserted? Does anyone actually live there? great videos Mr Rogers, my favourite channel .
Many thanks for the kind words- this was actually a Tuesday morning so you'd think there'd be a few people around
in a time of political stupidity your video was a very welcome and calming half hour. thanks John.
My pleasure Kate
Speaking of Kubrick (and watching your other films) - it would be great to see a film on Thamesmead.
for sure Karl - I made a short one day there around 2010 (see Notebooks) - but I'm holding to see if I'll be collaborating with someone on a project down there
John Rogers if only we could go back in time n see what it was like when new
Are you/ have you been on the new ferries please?
Not yet Georgina but I nearly went on Sunday but got the DLR instead
@@JohnRogersWalks ok and the new Silvertown Tunnel to be built. 3rd time now me quoted to you please. And D Day flights are on Google. To stream ta.