Day 20 - Prospect of Whitby

During previous visits to London we've taken  river cruises and sailed past a pub called The Prospect of Whitby several times.

The pub is noticeable because there is a hangman's noose set over the edge of the river just in front of it.  So the guides on the boat always point it out and explain that this marks the location of the aptly named Execution Dock.  Pirates and other criminals were hanged here until 1830, with the bodies often left to be washed away by the tide.

The Prospect is the oldest riverside pub in London, having managed to avoid being burnt down during the Great Fire of London  in 1666. 

The pub is associated with Judge Jeffreys, the notorious  hanging Judge, who was said to enjoy dining at the pub while he watched the executions.

As the pub is very close to where we are staying in Greenwich (albeit on the other side of the river) we decided to go over there today for lunch.  We took the DLR over to Shadwell and walked through Wapping and along the Thames path on the other side of the river. Had a nice lunch at the Prospect and after that it was back to Greenwich to see another  movie.  We've also found a really amazing ice cream shop in Greenwich with some amazing flavours.  So having had a big lunch at the pub we decided to just have ice cream in the evening.  Yesterday I tried lotus biscuit and banana caramel,  so today I had jaffa cake and peach. Yum!