The way John shoots and narrates his videos, he deserves to have his own TV show. Perfect for those sleepy Sunday afternoons, with a cup of tea and biscuits!

I once worked with a guy who grew up in Limehouse in the 1930s. He said that 'The Island' was always seen as a very separate place by other East Enders, inward-looking and vaguely dangerous.

I was born on the Island one year after the war. We lived in Montcalm House. Wonderful memories of running through the tunnel screaming at the top of our lungs. Playing in the forbidden Thames. Thanks John for the video from East Tennessee

As a Scotsman who once lived and worked in the City of London I'm chuffed to bits to stumble across your wonderfully shot and narrated videos of that beautiful city. Subscribing for sure.

Im new to these really brilliant walks and the memories you bring back to me about my time as a londoner ..especially in the east end ..Poplar 1965 to 74 Before and after that Chelsea ...my nan lived on the kings rd I always headed to the city for work 15 yrs old ..jewellers near the bank ..cheapside Where i spent my lunchtimes watching court cases in the Old Bailey 😁 I got the sack ..always late back Then Oxford street in Woolworths 15 quid a week . Made up in 1970 !!! No 15 bus took me all the way there What a ride that bus journey was !! Poplar all through london... Blackwall tunnel ..the city to Oxford circus Keep up the good work and documentation of all of it !! Essex ..the south coast ..Hastings , st Leonard's..thankyou xxSally Love of mine and

Fascinating stuff, John, as always. The Isle of Dogs was part of my catchment area when I was based at St Clement's Hospital as a Community Nurse in 1979/80 when that part of London wa a very poor & depressed area indeed. What a transformation! The only parts I recognized were Greenwich & the entrance to the foot tunnel.

Hi John! Love your videos - we don't have the depth of history here in New Jersey USA as you do in London. My $0.02 on the Jamestown colony, some of the history we do have. The colony was founded in 1607 during a period of extreme drought (as determined by tree ring analysis.ĺ Most of the colonists lacked practical skills, and they were dependant upon supply ships from England for food for several years. At least three supply trips were made, but as these trips also brought more colonists, the food situation became dire. Most (3/4 or so) of the colonists died of starvation, and some modern researchers believe the people resorted to cannibalism to survive. The last early colonists abandoned the Jamestown site around 1610, only to encounter a relief convoy as they we heading down the Chesapeake bay. They returned and were able to make the settlement stick. It was the first capital of Virginia until (as another commenter noted) it was burned in the late 1600s. The capital moved to nearby Williamsburg, and Jamestown was abandoned for good. It is now a public archeological site. Jamestown leant its name to an interesting plant species, Dataram stramonium, more commonly known as Jimson (sic) Weed (also known as Thorn Apple.) This plant has many medicinal uses, is strongly hallucinogenic and toxic even at moderate doses. The legend I've heard was that the starving early colonists ate this plant in quantity out of desperation (they had to be desperate as it is a member of the Nightshade family, which they would have recognized.) The drug crazed colonists then proceeded to kill each other off until the effects wore off, which took several days. I don't think they tried that experiment again... The Wikipedia page for Jimson weed mentions another story about the plant from later in the 1600s. It's dangerous stuff, and people overdose on it to this day. I hope to travel to London some day. If I do, I'll try to spend most of my time in the "other" London rather than the touristy areas. Cheers! Gerry Lingner Long Branch, NJ USA

Another wonderful walk through Docklands History ending with a lovely sunset.Thank you John inspite of your Ankle.

A great video, as always John, but the last 5 minutes or so were magical, with you sharing the sunset with your viewers, with brilliant views of Greenwich across the river. Thank you! 🌇 🙂👍

This is the almost identical route I would run ever morning when I was working in the city. I was billeted in the Travelodge Docklands and had given up 5 pm after work socials and up for cooked breakfasts for and early night and jog round the Isle of Dogs. Thanks John great memories.

Thank you so very interesting just found out in the last year that my great grandfather was one of the first undergond steam Drivers William Butler from Fulham in 1800s. We love your walks Thank you.

Thanks John from nz.. I was a tv repairman in the 1960s and The Isle of Dogs was on my patch. I must say that from your video its a better place to live now 60years on

I remember getting the DLR down to Island Gardens when it used to be the final stop on the line. We used to throw stones on the beach there and the walk through the foot tunnel to go look at the Cutty Sark.

The power station at Greenwich is still in use. It provides emergency back up power for the TFL network

Hi John,done this walk yesterday,what a place the dogs is,so much history old and new,millwall dock is massive,thank you again .

Excellent. Good man. A year late watching this. As a kid i rode on my 16” wheel hand-me-down girls bicycle, through the foot tunnel, along all the docks to Woolwich Ferry, then back along to Greenwich. Also rode same bike along the footpath of the Blackwall Tunnel when it was two way traffic. Just for kicks you understand. Our dad’s family came from generations of Stevedores working out of those docks. The war (WW2) changed everything, after which our dad went into retail and opened up a shop. Even now me and my wife love visiting London, but we both find it mind boggling, the amount of people there, very noticeable along the river. Cheers.

Thank you for this video John. My grandfather and uncle both worked at the east India docks. It brings back fond memories. Bob

Great walk John! Watched an old documentary from the 60s, on the abject poverty in the slums of The Dogs...left me stunned. Incredible history.

My Sunday afternoon shot of walking Heroin. I used to have friends on the Island and this brought back some happy memories.

Brilliant walk as usual John , Millwalls dockers originated from Scotland hence the Caledonian lion on their badge , and during the dock strikes Thames ironworks were on strike whereas the dockers from millwall continued working therefore causing resentment , then to eventually to move to the South side o the river , both teams had a high number of dock workers , The rivalry is still strong today as you know .

I knew the area in the 1960s. Thanks again John

Incredible to hear the birdsong at sunset, in the area where people have trees

I could spend hours watching these fascinating London locations and stories behind them. I can’t decide which ones I like best. I have saved some of your videos on my KZfaq favorites in the hope of visiting some of those places when I visit London again in the fall. Thank you for an outstanding job.

Ah yes. In the late 1960's I used to cycle down here from my Ilford home. A very nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon it was too. Plenty of exercise getting there and back. Getting down to Mudchute and the park by the foot tunnel to sit and eat a sandwich and have drink for lunch. Listened to the seagulls, smelling the river and watching the boats going up and down for an hour was a nice break from the urban sprawl of east London. I also remember having to stop at a railroad bridge somewhere close to where you were in this walk John to wait for this stupid little diesel train to chug past. Then, just like that, by 1972, the transformation was such that the traffic on the A13 and down the other major roads from Ilford headed south made getting there rather more dangerous than I would have preferred and so many of the little old streets were suddenly gone. The roadworks as the LDDC Development Corporation "rebuilt" so much along with the condition of some of the roads made the journey by bike even more hazardous. New roads went in at about the same time and the history, community and I bet many of the families that lived there and ran small businesses for generations were gone. Just wiped away. Lost. I also used to go down to the Woolwich Ferry and have my sandwich in the park next to the ferry. I remember going at some speed through the old cobble streets south of Cyprus and then the old black and brown Victorian brick warehouses which made the streets feel dark and dingy. Again the problem was the A13 and getting across it after about 1971 or so as the volume of traffic grew horribly made it very unfriendly towards cyclists back then. It's almost as if they wanted you to use a car or the DLR. Who'd have guessed it?

Just discovered your videos, John. I remember in my younger days around I think 1970 there was a wonderful enclosed overhead walkway across the docks with glass windows either side through which you could enjoy the views of the docks and the homes in the area. I feel a walk coming on in that area.

I remember doing an A level photo shoot in Canary Wharf when it was new and security wasn’t so tight. Some fabulous night shots of the structure and mists over London

Amazing content John: Thankyou..I have enjoyed all the videos I have watched so far..My brother and I were born in a little house on Fairlop Road, Leytonstone. We moved to the country when I was 3years old and I moved to Canada in my twenties. I still and always will love London and still miss it. Cheers John...Frances rose

Wonderful to see you up, out and about again. I feel well educated after watching this week's episode. Proving that education can be enjoyable.👍🏾

Great - thanks John - good to see the partner video to your live stream and pleased the injury is healing. A good ending to the day.

Once again an interesting walk thank you

My dad was born & raised in Poplar & worked for a while on the docks so this was a very interesting walk for me...doubt if he'd recognize much nowadays though...good to see you more or less mobile again sir!

Greetings from Manitoba, Canada once again. I look forward to your walks every Sunday and have learned so much from you about the history of London. Cheers!

Another great walk John. I believe the series of mills along the river wall that you point out on the map at 15:07 are the origin of the name 'Millwall'.

Awesome video! I lived right next to Newcastle Draw Dock for many years, my mother still lives there now. Island gardens was the park that we all hang around in during the 80s and 90s. A nice bit of history to add would have been the railway that ended at Island Gardens, some of it still exists alongside Millwall park which is where Island Gardens DLR is now. Thank you for braving the walk and bringing back some memories for me. I also learnt things about Blackwall basin so thank you again! You also reminded me of how long my paper round was in the 90s! There was once a Tate and Lyle factory on the island. The smell was fantastic when it was up and running. Not sure its there anymore. Looking forward to your other videos :)

Great video John! It brought back a lot of memories of warm summer days walking around the Isle of Dogs and taking the foot tunnel to the Cutty Sark. I used to live there between 2002 and 2006. Even though I have a good memory, many of the places you've shown are unrecognisable to me. So I can only imagine how it must seem like to someone who lived there before the 80s. Even though I think that most of the housing estates on the inside of Manchester and Westferry Roads were council estates, so maybe they aren't that old either.

what a great channel, thoroughly enjoying it and reminiscing, thanks John

Brilliant as ever John. Thank you :)

I love your style! Very scholarly, historically eye opening, humble, and extremely informative. It feels like I am casually walking alongside this cool human being for all seasons, that I can easily be friends with. Thanks a lot. As a nomad and artist myself, with each step, I'm discovering a world of wonder and magic. Keep up the good work!

There used to be a sign before the blue bridge saying that the Isle was where the Kings dogs were kept and I grew up on the understanding that Barking was named such because it was the farthest east you could here the dogs Barking? I've got great memories as a child playing over the mudchute! Nice video.

Great video John, glad to see you're healing,that vista of the Thames at 23.19 reminded me of Canaletto paintings of the Grand Canal in Venice !!!! All best mate !!!

Fascinating walk John on an ever changing vista in docklands. Get fit soon and best foot forward, whatever that may be?

I am loving every walk you do.and learning so much.Was born in Grays near Tilbury and live Leeds now where its lovely but my heart still in London area .

Talking of the River Crouch and if you want to get out of London, John, I would highly recommend a walk I did last week from Southminster (got to in an hour from Stratford), north to Bradwell Nuclear Power station and then around the whole east coast of the Dengie Peninsula back to Burnham on Crouch station. You also come across the oldest continuously used church in England ( St Peter's on the wall). I didn't see another person for 5 hours at one point. It was 26 mile walk so I don't know if your leg will be up to it just yet, but definitely one I think you would love in future.

I can remember them doing stunts back in the 80s where canary wharf is, lived at bridge house quay, worked in billingsgate then... I loved the old market down lower Thames street though... The gun used to be my favourite pub but everything has changed so much... Fantastic chsnnel you've got. I can't wait to get out and do some more exploration of London as I live in Yorkshire but work London... Very interesting history!

My great grandfather built and repaired barges on the Isle and lived there….my husband came from Limehouse. His father was in the Thames River Police…. Brilliant videos. I certainly don’t recognise the area anymore.

Just the best thing I've watched on KZfaq...brilliant thank you so much...roll on next walk xjx

Thanks John, take good care of your leg.

such awesome videos....you never fail to entertain and educate! if I ever win the lottery I'm gonna hire you for you to take me and my son on a real London walk!!

Contractor William Cubitt built Cubitt Town. Other notable work included Kings Cross station. There was a pub on Manchester Road named "The Cubitt Arms" until the early noughties.

thanks, very useful and informative.

Great video as always. Brilliant picture quality this week. 😊

At 29:30 the Waterman's Arms was the Newcastle Packet but was redeveloped, some years ago, into The Great Eastern, a hostel. Situated close to the Newcastle Draw Dock it has old association with the Kray Twins et al (decades ago).

Hello John, I did a similar walk recently - Canning Town to St Katherine’s dock then up to Spitalfields for some food. I tried to get on to the Leamouth Peninsular , but couldn’t see how to get to the footbridge as Canning Town is now a giant construction site , so I ended up at Trinity Buoy Wharf and started from there. I share your frustration at the parts of the Thames path that have been cut off by private development. 11:05 I remember that stretch and thanks for explaining what the towers are for 12:30 That is for what’s left of the shipping that comes that far up the Thames. Ground radar so that the Port of London Authority can track the ships and the sign tells the Captain what frequency to use to make contact. If you do the Thames path on the South bank from the flood barrier to Erith there are “light houses” - metal towers with red flashing lights on them to guide ships at night and a huge sign painted on the side of a building giving the radio frequency. There’s another ground radar station at Galleon’s reach.

I like your videos john in one of your videos where you walked to maldon I remember my dad went fishing a lot and his name was john

Absolutely wicked! I worked in Camden between 2006 and 2015. I delivered beer gas to most of the pubs and venues in that area. I always felt the energy and the history of the place. Nice one!!

Fully recuperated from my second COVID shot, and a brand new walk and fascinating history from John. Today is a good day! Never heard of Isle of Dogs before. I love all these sites in London that were tied to the early global economy.

John, I found your channel a few months ago and have been hooked ever since, working my way through all your video's. As a kid in the mid sixties living in Dagenham my Dad would drive form there to Lambeth to see my Grandparants and say "who wants to see the boats" and depart the A13 and go through the docks that were still working then we would slow down to watch the dockers and cranes working the ships. This brought back so many memories. Thank you and keep on filming. PS. just bought your book "This Other London" Love it.

I like your videos :) thank you for sharing the history of london. I moved here just the last year and I'm very interested to know more about . Thank you fot sharing that

I was watching last week from Vancouver BC, on Canada's west coast. In the oldest part of Vancouver, once known as Granville, there is a Blood Alley, which may have been inspired by the one mentioned in your walk. The origin is supposed to be due to the butcher shops backing on the alley, but also because the there were no windows on the back of the jailer's house facing the alley. Duels were fought there, and apparently a blind eye was turned to any results. In any case, it is likely that sailors named the alley, since a connection with the East India Docks would not be much of a stretch. Some of the prominent characters in the mid-to-late 19th century (such as Captain John "Gassy Jack" Deighton, the first publican) were sea captains.

Hey John, we lived in South Keys, Indescon Square and used to walk down to our church in West ferry road. Lovely 🥰 miss it 😢

great video thank you - slowly working my way thru' your videos - they're a joy :-)

I love this. Urban is a somewhat alien landscape to me, but good to see it, and learn about its history. You are an excellent guide John, and your vlogs are always engaging. Sorry to hear about your accident - hope your leg fully recovers soon. Take care, Paul.

Lovely. Cheers John. I'll stick it on the Leytonstone group as always. I remember playing in the docks just after they closed and going into an abandoned warehouse that had a really strong small of pepper. It was as if the stuff was ingrained in the very walls after being stored there for so many years. Get well soon mate. EDIT... I just wanted to add, see those ventilation shafts, there used to be a red TARDIS nearby. It was an old firebox, the fire brigade's equivalent of the more well known police box. That got demolished in the 80's. That was also a bit of a crime. Does anyone here remember it?

I love Sundays watching your walks it make me smile,thank you 👍🏼

Wonderful. Such history and significance. Thank you for sharing John.

Thank you John, lovely film. You have an eye for urban detail that captures its inadvertent beauty.

It’s pretty amazing I went to school in poplar for a while and worked down the road from billingsgate market, and all the time I would hear of the isle of dogs but until this time never knew the history. Thank you.

Thanks John glad the legs getting there, Keep well .

my evening meal, glass[ of wine, this great presentation. who could ask for anything more. thank you

As full of wonder, as ever! Thank you John. Poplar Dock and Blackwall Basin are quite extraordinary. Good to see you are on the mend. 😉

GREAT TO SEE YOU OUT AND ABOUT JOHN. I JUST WANTED TO SAY A WARM THANK FOR DOING THIS WALK AS MY BEST FRIEND PENNY LEDGER ALSO VISITED THIS EXACT LOCATION OVER THIS BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

Incredible walk, I used to go with my bike from Trinity Wharf to Greenwich foot tunnel every weekend, great sights!

Thank you, lived hearing about the history and seeing how much it has changed through the years.

Here's a suggestion for a walk John, how about a stretch of the Grand Union Canal.

Facinating tour my family lived in mellish st 1880s and worked in millwall dock so special interest for me thanks

Great insights, John! Many thanks. 👍

Greetings from Central Queensland. Look forward to a Medway Walk. Todsys video was sublimely relaxing.

Love your videos 🎉

Another great walk John. I like the urban stuff too. Just cracked open a keg of 'Pride of London' Porter to this. You were the first person I knew of that mentioned the drink in one of your older walks and it came up again with Ian Sinclair. I found a home brew kit online so couldn't resist having a bash myself. This would appear to be a good decision on my part. Cheers from Yorkshire. Only about a year behind now.

You have a wonderful, soothing, voice. I stumbled onto your channel in between a Joolz Walking tour. Between the two of you I get a better understanding of London's history and culture. Thank you.

What amazing walkabout the isle of dogs I have be to the isle of dog's for years about 40years sorry that your foot is in pain I always enjoy your view of London

I live in West Virginia that used to be part of Virginia. The Jamestown colony kept going. It was the one at Roanoke that failed and the settlers all vanished. Who would have thought East India Co were drug dealers!

At 29:00, the pubs between the old power station and the Naval College are The Yacht and the Trafalgar, in Greenwich.

Great stuff John. Brought back memories of cycling to work through the Greenwich tunnel (not that you were meant to ) when I lived in Blacckheath, many years ago. And thanks for introducing me to Ian Sinclair and Mark Fisher, much appreciated!

Hi John good to see you out and about again following your nasty fall. Thank you for this interesting film another great walk. Wasn’t the Virginia story depicted in the great series Taboo ? with Tom Hardy which was filmed in Gravesend which would make a great walk also . 😊👍👊

More 1000s and 1000s of new apartments suspiciously absent of humans and community. Ain't this vibrant cosmopolitan life great.

Camera and sound are good. Glad to see you’re suffering for your art.👍🏼😎

As ever John, a fantastic video. Thanks.

Great video, I used to work on a business park just before the blue bridge, we were there from 1986 so before any of the major regeneration had started. We could see the Canary Wharf area slowly taking shape from our staff canteen.

A video about the Deptford creek pleaseeee

Thanks for these videos! Your voice is also quite soothing! Lorenzo

A quality hobble as always!

Fantastic walk John , look forward to the next one !

Just watch your isle of dogs video . The history very interesting i didn't realise the navy college was so nearby. My dad was in. Not being a Londoner but from the Wash all good viewing keep doing it. S.

I've enjoyed this very interesting video immensely. It brings back happy memories of when I used to live just outside London in the suburbs. Now I'm retired and have more time on my hands I will enjoy watching the entire collection. The Epping Forest one I watched last night was particularly good. I spent part of my childhood near Wanstead at a boarding school which has now become the Snaresbrook Crown Court which borders part of the Epping Forest. Nice part of London.

Fantastic walk round the Island

I really enjoyed this video. Living in rural Cumbria this is fascinating.

I enjoyed this video very much. Thanks, John. About the Jamestown settlers who sailed from the Isle of Dogs: The colony they established was the first successful one in British North America but there was an earlier attempt. A group of settlers landed on Roanoke Island, on the coast modern North Carolina, in 1585. A some point, the colonists there simply disappeared. Their fate is a mystery. There is something which the plaque at the Isle of Dogs should mention. In 1619, the first African slaves introduced to North American were landed at Jamestown. This, of course, was the start of centuries of cruel and tragic American history. By the way, I am American and some of my ancestors lived near Jamestown later in the 17th century. They grew tobacco and, I believe some of them were owners of slaves.

Jamestown survived, there is a museum there now with summer students playing the part. The one you are thinking of as lost was the Elizabethan colony on Rowanoak, in what is now North Carolina outer banks. There is now a summer theatre there for the tourists.

As always John great entertainment and I hope you recover fully soon................Cheers Kev