Two walks, 45 years apart. Mile End to Limehouse Basin (2) April 2024.
Regent’s Canal and the Mile End Sewer Vent with the towers of Canary Wharf, April 2024
I was keen to try to retrace my steps from the previous walk on the 45th anniversary of those negatives. So, I enlisted the company of my friend Phil H for another of our street photography walks in London.
I've put a map of our route on Google My Maps, so you should be able to see where we went. Being digital now, I was not limited to 36 pictures, but I will try to limit myself to the same number of pictures (well, maybe a couple more) that I showed for the 1979 walk. And of course, life in the digital age happens in colour :)
1. The railway bridge in Bow Common Lane. Trees have now grown up and there was no George Davies slogan.
2. Terraced houses, Bow Common Lane.
3. Courtyard, Bow Common Lane, now gated.
4. Bow Common Lane. The tower block persists, but Britannia has been replaced by new blocks of flats.
5. Burdett Road. The building on the right with the semicircular motifs is number 1, Burdett Road. This can be seen in the 1979 picture (7) further into the picture. The road is so busy with traffic now that I could not get a picture from the original spot where I stood because traffic completely blocked the view.
6. The approach to Johnson's lock. The gas holders are long gone, but there is more boat traffic than I can see in the pictures from 1979.
7. On Johnson's lock, looking north. We met two lovely and very high-energy women who were taking their boat “Hercules” (Waterman, 1938) down the canal. They stopped to operate the canal. This is Daphne, who I think was the skipper, and who very kindly posed for a quick portrait before opening the gate. Compare this picture with number 9 from 1979 and you can see how much redevelopment there has been along the lock.
8. Under grey Crescent Bridge. The old blocks of council flats have gone, and the distant view is dominated by the towers of Canary Wharf. The delivery cyclist is characteristic of 2024.
9. Grey heron flying along the Regent’s Canal. This heron flew past us and hung around for a long time, landing on the balcony of a canal-side apartment. We also saw other water birds such as Canada geese (incubating eggs), moorhens and coots (with chicks) as we walked along.
10. No chickens are raised next to the canal now; an apartment block sits in front of the railway line. (See 1979 picture 12.)
11. Salmon Lane Lock. Not the same view as 1979 picture 13, because I couldn't get across the lock at the time to get that view.
12. The entrance to Limehouse Basin. A DLR train passes over the bridge above the end of the canal.
13. Limehouse basin (in the rain).
Just three more pictures from that day that do not relate to the 1979 part of the walk.
14. Asian-run corner shops of always been part of my experience of London. While Phil and I were walking along Hamlets Way, we got to talking with Amin who runs such a shop. He very kindly posed for another extremely quick portrait on his corner. Thank you, Amin, very much!
15. Tower Hamlets Cemetery, with the spring flowers in full bloom. I had never been here before, so we took a brief excursion before continuing our walk. It is one of London's wonder cemeteries sitting amid a dense residential area.
16. Gormley and Canary Wharf. Once we had reached Limehouse Basin, there seemed to be only one place to go. Just down the way is the Grapes pub. Phil and I sat out the back and had some suitably liquid refreshment. This view, for me, represents 2024 London with only the River Thames itself to remind us of the deep history of this part of London. The towers are Canary Wharf, and the man on the plinth is “Another Time XVI” by Antony Gormley.