Footprints of London

Dagenham is instantly associated with the huge Ford factory that opened in 1931, but many other industries have been based there.   Dagenham is instantly associated with the huge Ford factory that opened in 1931. However the Dagenham Dock has an industrial history going back to the early 1800’s. This walk will look at a…

Rob and Laura Agustín walk along the North Sea exploring naval histories and the lives of seamen working ships in the Age of Sail. On this tour along the Essex coast at the mouth of the River Stour, we will walk from the seaside town of Dovercourt to the pier at Harwich, a traditional point…

Stories of sunken ships in the Thames from Roman times to the present day With so many ships visiting London, it is hardly surprising that there have been thousands of shipwrecks in the Thames. This Virtual Tour tells the story of 12 ships that have sunk in the Thames, from a Roman cargo ship, to…

Vine Street was once home to one of London’s busiest police stations. This walk looks at some of the crime in London’s West End in the past. Crime has been an ever present in London’s West End – and a lot of those arrested ended up in Vine Street Police Station. This walk through London’s…

From Tudor times to the era of steam, Wollwich was a place for building ships for the Royal Navy. Woolwich Arsenal built guns and ammunition Woolwich was once home to two vast military production sites – the Woolwich Dockyard and the Woolwich Arsenal. Both founded in the time of Henry VIII, the dockyard built ships…

Caledonian Road in Islington has lots of local history along the way, old cinemas, suffragettes, a prison and a canal too.   Caledonian Road is far from London’s tourist trail but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see. Far from it, in this two our zig zag stroll around Islington’s less well known spots Rob Smith…

A tour about things under the ground, featuring a church crypt, Roman remains, underground shops and other places under London’s streets There is so much under the streets of London and most of it we take for granted. This walk is about things underground. We’ll visit some underground spaces – a church crypt, the remains…

The 4th of 4 walks telling the story of the port of London looks at home the Surrey Commercial Docks were transformed into part of Docklands This series of walks tells the story of the Port of London through four guided walks. Led by Footprints of London guide Rob Smith, each walk covers a different…

This walk takes in some of the locations connected to Thames Ironworks FC – the football club that was a forerunner to West Ham United The Thames Ironworks was a large shipbuilding yard at Bow Creek in East London. In 1895 they formed a company football team that played in the Southern League and FA…

The story of how voyages of trade, discovery and colonisation started from Blackwall, in London’s Docklands Blackwall in London’s Docklands has as much maritime history as Greenwich, it is just that you have to look a bit harder to find it. In this two hour walk Rob Smith uses fragments of the old dockyard and…