London’s East End and Beyond
We will be exploring what was historically London’s immigrant area, where Huguenots, Irish and East European Jews have settled, made their mark, and moved on. Today it is home to the Bangladeshi living in and around the famous and vibrant Brick Lane, crammed with curry houses. From Whitechapel we drive eastwards, towards Docklands. Here at Canary Wharf, once the bustling hub of the world’s largest docks, now a mini-Manhattan, we see how an area that had become derelict and neglected following the closure of the docks, has been triumphantly regenerated. And then on to Stratford, the heart of the 2012 Olympic Games, for a terrific view of the Olympic stadia. This area too had suffered from centuries of industrialisation and pollution, high unemployment, and poverty. Today, it too is being regenerated as part of the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games. We might choose to lunch in Stratford, and then visit the world’s largest tidal water mill in a ravishingly pretty setting of cobbled courtyards and oast houses. We will end our tour at Thames Barrier Park for a great view of the Barrier itself and, if time, a cup of tea.
Please contact me for more details and your group’s requirements