Launch of East End treasure hunt

Model of rail bridge, Brunel Museum - Rotherhithe & Wapping treasure hunt Model of rail bridge, Brunel Museum - Rotherhithe & Wapping treasure hunt

Our latest new treasure hunt explores London's 'Old East End'.  It's a two-part treasure hunt taking in Rotherhithe and Wapping.  To get between the two, you take a one-stop trip on the London Overground (Zone 2) through Brunel's ground-breaking Thames Tunnel.

Old East End treasure hunt - Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe stands on the south bank of the Thames, and has been referred to as London's 'secret riverside village'.  Once an important Elizabethan shipyard and dock, it had strong trade links to the Baltic states and India, and still has a considerable Scandinavian community (with a Norwegian and a Finnish church too).  Exotic street names such as Elephant Lane and Bombay Court reflect the Asian trade connections.  The church of St Mary in the centre of the main village street is full of maritime artefacts, and the Captain of the Mayflower is buried in the churchyard.  A visit to the little Brunel museum is recommended; it stands on Brunel's former engine house for his Thames Tunnel - the world's first underwater tunnel.  The museum has a rooftop garden with a pop up bar for summer cocktails, and is a quirky and interesting spot.

Old East End treasure hunt - Wapping

Facing directly across the river is the village of Wapping, whose name derives from the Saxon 'place of Waeppa's people'.  Its principal activity centuries ago was to support seafarers, with many of the residents in trades such as mastmaking, instrument engineering and boat building.  Wapping was also the notorious execution site for pirates, who would be hung at Execution Dock by Wapping Old Stairs (pictured), and left there for the turn of three tides.  Although the village suffered in the Blitz, three ancient pubs still stand: the Captain Kidd, the Town of Ramsgate and the Prospect of Whitby, and the area has been revitalised from the run down docks of the post-war years into a delightful place to live and visit.

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