St. Katharine Dock – Boat Marina & Dickens Inn

Craig’s review… If you ask a Londoner where St. Katharine Docks is then most of them won’t have a clue because Tower Bridge is the borderland for most folk – that’s where the Romans built their wall, so that’s where they halt their walking. But just over the road is a string of marinas tucked in behind the Tower Guoman Hotel. It’s nestled in behind the buildings, so unless you know it’s there you’re highly unlikely to find it.

One hundred years ago this whole area used to be the Port of London but all of the big wharves and warehouses along the river have been converted into bazillion pound flats. All of the cargo ships have turned into yachts, so instead of them offloading coffee crates now you can stop and have a coffee instead… sit and watch what people are doing with their day. It’s a people-watching place.

Yachts in the boat marina

I’m trying to count up all of the boats but there are far too many. There are probably about 100-or-so… maybe a bit more. The posh ones are all corporate and get hired out for staff parties whilst the little ones are breezy little weekend affairs that wouldn’t last long on a five-foot wave.

One of them is really something special, all pristine and shining white with raindrops glistening off the windows like dewdrops on ice. It’s obviously a rich man’s plaything, and I’m wondering if this is his missus on the gangplank. You know the type: nose angled up towards the sun like she’s sniffing for sunshine and dangling her car keys between two fingers to show off the fob. Off she trots down the gangplank, the sound of her stiletto heels clattering against the metal plate like pound coins falling from her pocket. She obviously hasn’t got the right shoes for this. She looks like a newborn calf trying to traverse a cattle grid.

This is definitely the closest you’re going to get to Monaco in London, but it’s Monaco with a British twist: instead of Mediterranean millionaires lounging around in the sun you’ve got retirees, grandkids and their yapping dog.

I like peering into all of the posh offices around the wooden walkways because you can see all the staff sitting at their cubicle desks, punching numbers into their computers. One hand is typing away as good as gold (doing what it’s paid to do) whilst the other hand is busy feeding their face with a Starbucks latte and Subway baguette. A few paces further on you’ll come to another window, but this time it’s an office for the bosses, complete with a whiteboard, pine table and leafy green plant pot. You’d think that they’d be able to afford some metal blinds for the window, but nope – the nosey public can still stand outside and watch what they’re doing.

I can see them sitting around a table discussing something important, holding out their power-thumbs and pointing at some big numbers on the whiteboard. I wonder what they’re talking about? They’re probably making million-pound decisions in there whilst just one window back all of their poorly-paid staff are busy surfing the internet and gossiping and pretending to be busy. I can see them skiving! Ha ha… I was one of them once. I remember getting paid peanuts for doing as little work as possible (nothing’s changed).

Dickens Inn – in an 18th century warehouse

The best building in the Docks is definitely the Dickens Inn. It looks like one of those Alpine hotels that you sometimes see on Ski Sunday, complete with balconies spilling over with pretty little mountain flowers. Inside it’s like an old country pub with dark wood, dim lights and oak beams on the ceiling.

It really is very special indeed but unfortunately it also gets extremely busy during the weekends and the evenings and they employ bouncers to count the people in and out. It’s the kind of place where you dread having to buy a round because you know you’ll be standing at the bar for the next fifteen minutes trying to compete with fifty other people who are all five feet taller than you.

Worth a visit? ★★☆Value for money? n/aGood for kids? ★☆☆Easy to get to? ★★★

I also recommend… If you enjoy this then try Tower Bridge (you can walk it in 4 mins) and Tower of London (you can walk it in 6 mins)

The author Craig Cross owns city-guide.london and has spent the last decade reviewing the capital’s landmarks, attractions and hotels. His guidebook London Squire is available from Amazon