THIRD TIME UNLUCKY FOR THE PIRATE WHO WENT TO THE GALLOWS

Captain William Kidd, the 17th century 'Privateer' who became a notorious pirate, came to an unceremonious end in Wapping. It happened at Execution Dock - so you know his fate!

It wasn't very nice either. Twice the hangman's rope snapped so it wasn't third time lucky for the pirate who had made his reputation in the Caribbean and strutted arrogantly around New York spending his wealth. Unfortunately, he took a gamble and refused to hand over some of his huge bounty to the English Crown - and that sealed his fate.

He was eventually sent back to London, tried and sentenced to death. His body was covered in tar, clamped in an iron cage and displayed on the riverside at Tilbury. It was a clear warning to other sea-farers not to change sides!

Not until the 20th century did some papers come to light which suggested that Kidd's argument and defence of his actions could have been valid. They were never heard at his trial and the rest, as they say, is history.

This is one of the stories you will hear on a LONDON FOOTSTEPS walking tour along the river path around the streets of Wapping, once an area alive with merchants, dockers, sailors but now the home for another kind of trader - city financiers who can afford the sky-high prices of apartments overlooking the river.

Why not find out more about LONDON FOOTSTEPS. http://www.londonfootsteps.co.uk

THE FLOW OF HISTORY

Creating a new walk is always a challenge. I can spend a long time searching through books and browsing the internet to get details, facts and anecdotes about a proposed route. I go out and walk the route by myself, just to make sure it works. Invariably I finish up with more than I need for a two hour walk - and THE FLOW OF HISTORY is no exception.

The River Thames is like a ribbon of history, wrapping itself around the centuries of London life in a way that no other geographical feature does. Other cities have dominating mountains, harbours, ancient ruins etc...London has the Thames.

If you ever want to know just how influential is has been then take THE FLOW OF HISTORY WALK - along the Thames Path from the Tower, over the Millennium Bridge to Bankside, along to Southwark Cathedral and back over London Bridge.

The small group of enthusiasts who enjoyed this walk on a cold, bright November morning were in no doubt - it was fascinating. I shall be doing it several times over the next few months because it has that magic forumula - fascinating history as well as familiar images of London. The casual tourist will enjoy the picture postcard aspects of this walk - but so too will someone who likes more historical meat on the bone!

If you want to know more then get in touch. I'd like to see you on a LONDON FOOTSTEPS walk around the Square Mile. Groups as well as individuals are welcome so have a look at www.londonfootsteps.co.uk.

MOVING DOWN RIVER

There are places in London which are off the main tourist route yet always worth a visit. One area is Wapping, just a mile downstream from Tower Bridge. This was once the bustling heart of the Pool of London, busy with ships loading and unloading their cargoes, hundreds of dockers working on the quayside and in the wharves; the cranes swinging out over the river lifting goods from the far corners of the globe and loading some of products which carried the 'Made in Britain' badge to distant lands.

All that is now consigned to the history. These scenes of 50 years ago have been replaced by the quiet calm of affluence. The warehouses have been converted into smart, expensive apartments; no more noise and dirt. People here eat in trendy restaurants, have expensive tastes and count their money.

Yet it's still worth going to have a look at Wapping. The High Street doesn't have any shops - just converted, towering warehouses. The D3 Docklands bus bounces over the cobbles and the estate agents sit in spacious offices waiting for people to come along with £500,000 to spend on one of the glossy properties advertised in the windows.

On a fine day you can see why people want to live here. If you're lucky enough to to be on your balcony overlooking the river and enjoying a pre-dinner drink, the money will seem well spent. Or you may pop along to the pub for a pint, places with dockside traditions and memorabilia like the Prospect of Whitby, the Town of Ramsgate or Captain Kydd.

Dinner? Well maybe a stroll up to St Katherine's Dock where you can have a budget Pizza or spend a lot more; there's always the London Hydraulic Company restaurant in Wapping, one of those much-loved themed eating places, where you sit surrounded by 19th century heavy machinery while enjoying the fish speciality.

This is affluent Wapping - but go less than a mile away from the river towards Shadwell and Cable Street and the taste buds really come alive. This is where the Bangladeshi community live - and the streets are bustling, the shops busy, the schools noisy, the food exotic and cheap and the restaurants inviting. It's a remarkable contrast - and shows how the diversity of London and its people is one of its great attractions.

Don't turn down an invitation to Wapping. The walk along the Thames Path from the City will amaze you. Wapping is a place where cash and culture collide. The docks are consigned to memory. What we have now is very different - but fascinating in its own way.

QUEENHITHE

It's hard to imagine that this was probably the busiest place on the river in the 16th and 17th century. The small inlet, Queenhithe, was one of the Legal Quays on the northern bank of the River Thames. Ships waiting to load and unload were jostling each other as they waited for a berth. There was a forest of sails and masts. Pilfering and smuggling was rife and even when the ships eventually tied up alongside at Queenhithe or the other wharves, the customs were waiting to collect their taxes and duties.

Now the river traffic is mainly pleasure launches. The River Police, formed in 1798 to cut the rising crime on the river and the quayside, are not likely to face any violent characters these days - just the odd drunk who jumps into the water from a riverside restaurant.