St Katherines Dock Blog

The last time I traipsed across St Katherine’s Dock on route to see the hangman’s noose at the Prospect of Whitby, I was waylaid at the very first tavern, or should I say inn.

Yes, we stopped at The Dickens Inn – and that’s where we remained enjoying the ambiance of this fabulous, reconstructed 18th Century pub – we didn’t even make it out of  the Dock!

In my defence it was a very hot day, Andy Murray was in his first Wimbledon final and our group wrongly thought that these pirate – and artist – ridden Taverns (the Tower of Ramsgate, Turner’s Old Star, and finally the Prospect of Whitby), could not offer as much ambiance as The Dickens Inn. 10 years later when I managed to make it out of the dock to visit the noose and other taverns, I found out how wrong we were!

Seeing the stake that held the noose on a tiny piece of sand exposed by the low tide, below this very quaint and old pub, The Town of Ramsgate, (with Christmas Decorations to die for when I finally visited) it all became very apparent! What a sinister role this stake played for vagabonds, villains and pirates when they were found guilty of their crimes. It was thought provoking, sitting nursing a glass of mulled wine (it was December!) and thinking who had sat there before me and what sights they had seen.

The fascination continued as we visited another couple of historic taverns along the route of our Tavern Tour, which of course we had to stop at to refresh ourselves and get the full feel of the history they hold within their walls.

So, on reflection, as nice as it was to see Andy win his first Wimbledon, that enjoyment was nothing compared to actually doing this Beyond the Map London Walk – albeit 10 years too late.