Photo: londondrum.comUseful things to know before your visit
Website: skdocks.co.uk
How much time do you need?
A typical visit to St. Katharine Dock takes 45 to 60 minutes.
Which buses go to St. Katharine Dock?
Bus routes 15, 25, 42, 78 and 100 all stop close by.
Which is the closest train station?
The nearest station is Tower Hill, which connects with the Circle and District lines. You can walk the ¼ mile to St. Katharine Dock in about 5 minutes.
Which other attractions are nearby?
These attractions are all within 15 minutes walk of St. Katharine Dock: Tower Bridge, Tower of London, All Hallows-by-the-Tower, HMS Belfast and Billingsgate Roman House & Baths.
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Tower Bridge is the edge of town for most people and they probably don’t know that this place even exists, but for 140 years between 1827 and 1968 it was the one of the busiest docks in London and the main entry point for silk, sugar, spices and rum.
They managed to double the number of waterfront warehouses by splitting it into two smaller basins accessed through a lock, but unfortunately this innovation also proved to be its downfall because as the decades went by the cargo containers got larger, the boats got bigger, and the smaller basins couldn’t adapt to the change.
Photo: londondrum.comThe final blow came during the war when the Germans flattened everything up the eastern end. The western warehouses were then pulled down to make way for all the shops, offices and apartments, and by the 1970s what was once a bustling hub of crates and cranes became a pretty string of marinas filled with brightly coloured barges, posh yachts and chartered boats.
Photo: londondrum.comIt’s not quite Monaco but it’s the closest you’re going to get in London. I counted about forty boats in the western basin and fifty in the other, from painted houseboats with picnic tables on the roof, right up to luxury yachts with twenty foot masts, rotating radar towers and a lifeboat larger than the QEII. You can usually find the Queen’s rowbarge Gloriana moored up somewhere as well – that golden boat she sailed up the Thames during her Diamond Jubilee.
Photo: londondrum.comOne of the bigger boats this morning is really something special, all shining white with raindrops glistening off the windows like dewdrops on ice. It’s obviously a rich man’s plaything and I’m wondering if this is his missus sashaying down the gangplank. Her stiletto heels are clattering against the metal plate and sound like pound coins falling from her pocket. She obviously hasn’t got the right shoes for this and looks like a newborn calf trying to traverse a cattle grid.
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If you walk around the cobbled quayside there are a couple of nice cafes and restaurants with pavement tables, and you can peer into all the posh offices and watch the staff pretending to work at their cubicle desks. A few metres further along are more offices with leafy green plant pots and bosses surrounded by piles of files and folders and laptops. I wonder what they’re discussing? They’re probably making million-pound decisions in there.
Photo: londondrum.com
The Dickens Inn
When the flowers are out the Dickens Inn always reminds of those ski hotels you find in the Alps. It just needs a bit of overhanging snow and the sound of cow-bells and you can imagine yourself standing in the Bavarian mountains.
But don’t get too excited if you’re a Charles Dickens fan because he definitely didn’t drink here. Back in his day it was probably a tea factory and stood about 70 metres east of its present position. During the 1970s redevelopment the whole building was pulled down and the original timbers were reassembled into a three-story balconied inn. (That’s one of those facts it’s nicer not to know!)
Unfortunately it also gets extremely busy during the evenings and weekends and they employ bouncers to count people in and out. But no one says you have to come here during the evening. Maybe try it first thing on a Monday morning instead, like me.
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What do you think? (4)
Average rating ★★★★★★★★★★Ask a question, or share your experience of St. Katharine Dock
M Beam Thank you for introducing us to this place because it’s now a regular part of our walks and we couldn’t do without it. It’s a wonderful place to stop off for a cup of tea. (reply)
Phil Can anybody moor a boat in St. Katharine Docks? (reply)
↳Craig Hi Phil. Yes, it’s open to everyone. Here’s some information about the mooring charges – thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/moorings/st-katharine-docks/ (reply)
TomG We only discovered this area a month ago completely by chance during our walk along the river, and it has now become an enjoyable part of our walk 👍 (reply)
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