London Docklands - June 3 - 5, 2024

Leaving Whittlesford station early on Greater Anglia train this time. Sadly, no one showed up for assistance so I was again grateful for other kind passengers who helped me on with the luggage and off at the end. So nice to be reassured of the goodness of people toward those who need a little extra help!

Taxi to the Foundation of St. Katherine’s near Limehouse in the Docklands area of London. This is radically different that where I stayed on arrival. This is definitely working class neighborhood. The Foundation of St. Katherine’s (RFSK) is truly an urban oasis as it calls itself. 

I mistakenly thought this was a former convent, but the history is more complex. Originally on the site was a hospital in the 1600’s. It was repurposed during the many religious disputes in English history. When the building was bombed in WWII, this facility was built on the site of a former church. Their mission is to be a community presence and offer a place of peace and rest for the soul. It is indeed a quiet respite in a busy world. The inner courtyard garden is lovely. In spite of the train lines running right outside the doors, there is a peace here. It is a retreat center for groups as well as individuals.

You get the sense of peace here

The room was comfortable and clean though small. The rates for staying here are certainly reasonable and I really like the vibe. They operate The Yurt Cafe on the property which offers reasonably priced meals and drinks and a place to visit, but indoors and out. I saw many working people taking their lunch there on the picnic tables under the awnings.

From here you are walking distance to many docks along the Thames River. At one time this was the poorer area of town and during WWII it was heavily bombed as shipping on the Thames was a major enemy target. Now it has mostly been rebuilt and “gentrified” . Still it is one of the less expensive areas on London to live.

These long, narrow boats were built to navigate the canals

I was fascinated by the docks, particularly tho “cuts” that connect Thames docks with the canal system. Lots of cyclists in this area along one of the many cycling “super highway”. These are serious riding paths for people who use bicycles as their transportation.

Tower of London

Tuesday being my only full day left for exploring, I set it aside for the Tower of London. I booked early entry time tickets and the crowd wasn't too bad. There is a level walkway all around the interior of the facility. To be clear, it is not a tower; it is more like a castle with multiple towers, a palace, armory, separate building for the crown jewels and a moat all the way around.

It is hard to imagine how big this place is!

Just one of the many towers

A very fancy canon given as a gift

The original tower was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, and it was built as a fortress. Since that time, it has been added onto, and rebuilt several times. There were some areas I couldn’t access because of narrow, steep steps. For the most part, I was satisfied with what I could see. By the time I spent several hours there my feet hurt from walking on the cobblestones and the crowds showed up. There were lots of school groups touring here. There were well organized and well behaved. 

One of the famed ravens

Still I was done after about 3 hours and went in search of a fishing tackle store I read about. It apparently doesn’t exist. After walking a couple miles, I had a nice lunch and went back to the train station to return to RFSK.

Early night for me! Tomorrow is travel day.