Highlights:
Deptford is a little world in itself, with a fascinating history yet seldom visited. Once a prosperous port town with a royal dockyard, this gritty working-class district has many hidden gems and is undergoing regeneration with a rich ethnic and cultural diversity.

Deptford is the cradle of the Royal Navy, Trinity House and the starting point for voyages of discovery and trade. It’s where London’s railway, steam navigation and modern power generation began. Discover where warships were built and victualled, where Francis Drake was knighted and playwright Christopher Marlowe murdered. Deptford was home to diarist John Evelyn and frequented by Samuel Pepys on visits to the dockyard and his mistress.

Cross a Roman road and Tudor battlefield site. See a vibrant street market and one of London’s finest baroque churches. Hear about a wildly extrovert Russian tsar, rum, slaughterhouses, slave trading, convicts, noxious smells, scrap metal, and ruthless town planning.

Follow a cobbled lane to watermen’s stairs. Take in panoramic views of the river and Canary Wharf.

Cross the old county line into Rotherhithe and explore London’s oldest riverside wet dock, where whale blubber was boiled on the quayside.  Hear tales of Black Saturday and the massive Surrey Docks complex, the former hub of London’s timber trade.

Duration:  Allow 4 hours walking plus a refreshment break.
Distance:   Approx 5 miles (8.3 kms)
Start:  Deptford Bridge Station (Dockland Light Railway)
Finish: Greenland Pier (Thames Clippers) or Surrey Quays Station (London Overground).