The most famous building in Wapping is a pub, The Prospect of Whitby, which was a favourite with pirates and smugglers as well as with Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys.

This ancient village which stretches between the Tower of London and Limehouse has always been associated with seafarers. They tended to live a life apart from the rest of London, although in the eighteenth century the 36 pubs along the riverfront attracted many visitors including Dr Samuel Johnson. Three of these pubs survive.

The London Docks were built in the early nineteenth century and were famous for the import of rum, wine and tobacco. The docks were closed in 1969, but many of the former wharves and warehouses have been preserved and converted into modern apartments. This retains the atmosphere of the past although the sense of danger evoked by Charles Dickens's novels has vanished.

The walk starts and ends with two attractive conversions of old docks into modern usage - St Katherine's Dock and Shadwell Basin.