Explore Rotherhithe’s links with the Pilgrims voyage to modern day USA, an engineering innovation still used 200 years later, and much more

Rotherhithe is one of London’s best kept secrets – a historic , cobblestoned riverside urban village that feels thousands of miles away from the nearby glittering skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. Tucked in a bend on the Southern side of the River Thames, it is a pocket where time slows down, making it the perfect setting for an unforgettable guided walking tour. Stepping into its’ quiet streets means walking directly through layers of village & industrial history, maritime legends, and engineering triumphs.

Rotherhithe is best known for its’ close association with one of the most famous voyages of all time , when, over 400 years ago, the Mayflower took the Pilgrims from England, across the Atlantic Ocean, to create the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, in modern day USA.

Rotherhithe was also the start point for the Thames Tunnel , the first underwater tunnel to be completed in the world. It was the first major engineering project Isambard Kingdon Brunel worked on, but he did not lead the project, it was led by his father Marc Brunel. Marc Brunel’s key innovation allowing the construction of a tunnel under the Thames has a very unlikely source of inspiration, which you will hear about on the guided walk, and is still the basis for tunnel construction 200 years later.

As we walk around the village we will also discuss films, education, and fire services, before walking upstream toward Cherry Garden Pier, enjoying beautiful views of the Thames across to Wapping and up to Tower Bridge in the distance. En-route we’ll have a chance to discuss a notorious 17th century judge, a royal manor, and a 20th century memorial to a doctor much loved by the local community.