Onwards and eastwards

Back to east London and forward into year 2 since the last stamp in my passport. But in this shrunken world, London continues to be fascinating, in fact delightful. The days lengthen as March advances and in gorgeous sunlight I cross the river and head east, enjoying the silhouettes of the Shard and Tower Bridge (although some other visitors seem more interested in what's happening on their phones---no change there). Since my visit last autumn, the churchyard at St. John's Wapping has shed its leaves but is magical as ever.

With both the sun and the tide out, it's time to explore the foreshore. I climb down a wobbly ladder with the help of a kind person who's already down there and steadies it for me. Into my head swims a 1950s song "James, hold the ladder steady" by Sue Thompson (no, I hadn't heard of it until a friend told me but yes, it's on YouTube). As I write this, Thompson (b. 1925) is still alive. The things you find on Google!

I've been reading the marvellous book "Mudlarking" by Lara Maiklem, who collects antique artefacts from the Thames foreshore, anything from Roman coins to Edwardian perfume bottles. At some sites she takes a portable ladder and waterproof clothing to get shoreside. While enjoying the book, I leave this to the experts but marvel at the other-worldliness 12 feet below street level. It's a fleeting world which can be appreciated only around low water, and preferably at spring tides. The architecture is fascinating too: most of Docklands has been flattened for post-1960s blocks but some of the ancient warehouses survive. The majority of these have been converted into upmarket apartments but a few pockets of 19th century grit remain.

Wapping offers a view of the river's south side. I double back for an alternative sighting of Tower Bridge and the Shard but will leave the Rotherhithe foreshore for another time.Read more