Line Walks London: The Magnificent Seven Part VII: Tower Hamlets to Nunhead Cemetery (14km or 9mi)

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Map and Directions (Download the PDF to your phone to access the map offline)

Introduction

Wapping

The Magnificent Seven are seven beautiful landscaped cemeteries built between 1832 and 1840 to respond to the overcrowded local parish cemeteries and to move the associated health hazards further away from the city centre. The cemeteries are not only burial grounds but also beautiful gardens, some of them are classified as nature reserves. This walk is the seventh and last in a series of seven magnificent walks, connecting the magnificent seven cemeteries. For an overview of the seven walks, highlights an tips, please visit the overview page.

The walk start at Tower Hamlets Cemetery and ends at Nunhead, following the Lea Navigation to Limehouse Basin and following the Thames Path across the Tower Bridge. Tower Hamlets Cemetery is a nature reserve, described as an ‘urban woodland’. Nunhead cemetery has its own charm, located on a hill it offers panoramic views of the city. Walk Westwards to the top of the hill to sit down and take in the view of St Paul’s Cathedral.

From South Park, the walk mainly follows the roads. If you want to keep the route scenic, but still visit Nunhead Cemetery, I would advise to take the overground from Surrey Quays (South Park) to Queens Road Peckham. Follow Hollydale road, for a short 10 minute walk, towards Nunhead Cemetery. This reduces the total walk to 10km or 6mi.

Getting There

Start:

Mile End (Central Line, Hammersmith & City Line) or Bow (Hammersmith & City Line)

Transport along the way:

Limehouse, Tower Hill, Surrey Quays

End:

Nunhead (Trains to Elephant & Castle, Blackfriars and Victoria)

Map and Directions(Download the PDF to your phone to access the map offline)

Follow the Lee Navigation towards Limehouse Basin. When crossing the bridge that connects the river Lee to the Thames, Limehouse Marina, follow the steps down to The Narrow, a restaurant from Gordon Ramsey. Follow the Thames Path where you can, sometimes you might need to make a detour around the flat blocks. Just before entering Wapping (halfway km 3&4 on the map), you will find the Prospect of Whitby, the oldest riverside public house, stemming from the 16^th century. If you’re hungry I would recommend to eat here. The pub has a terrace with view on the Thames. A bit further, you will find the pub ‘Town of Ramsgate’, also with a very cosy riverside terrace.

Follow Wapping High Street, which used to be the centre of all printing and publishing works and housed Rupert Murdoch’s News International, we arrive at St Katherine Docks. We cross the Tower Bridge and follow the Thames Path from the South Side of the River.

Past the design museum and crossing the footbridge spanning another basin, you will find an original artwork from Banksy, depicting a boy with a fishing rod (halfway between km 6&7). At the 7km distance marker on the map, we arrive at the Old Justice. The Old Justice is an old pub which offers Korean BBQ (with very mixed reviews; I haven’t tried it myself). It’s a very charming pub in a quiet residential area, famous for Paul Mcartney’s recording of the music video ‘No More Lonely Nights’ and for its featuring as a location in the movie ‘Give my regards to Broad Street’.

Next we arrive at South Park. The rest of the walk mainly follows the roads and those who would prefer to avoid these but still want to visit the cemetery, I would recommend to take the overground at Surrey Quays (indicated with the letter ‘O’ on the map to Queens Road Pechkam (the letter ‘O’ on the last map of page 4). From then on, follow Hollydale Road for 10 minutes to arrive at Nunhead Cemetery.