Odd Corners of Old London - Part 2 Wapping

No this isn't Amsterdam, it's Wapping in London's East End.

It's called Spirit Quay and it connects Shadwell Basin with the Thames near St Katharine's Dock.  And to prove it isn't Amsterdam, you can see the Shard.  Is there anywhere in London where you can't see the Shard?

Fronting onto it is Tobacco Dock, built in 1811 as a store for imported tobacco.  As at July 2012, it is being used as temporary accommodation for soldiers deployed to guard the Olympic Games.  Here is the figurehead of one of the ships in the dry dock.

Fronting onto the River Thames, Wapping is full of old warehouses with wonderful names - Gun Wharves, King Henry's Wharves, Phoenix Wharf...

And from the riverside, there is a view of Canary Wharf.