Wapping Pet Sitting and City Dog Walking

Welcome to Wapping and City's Pet Sitter, Giulia (Julia) who will look after cats, dogs and all types of pets in the City, Wapping and surrounding areas of Central / East London.

To know more about the City and Wapping dog walking and pet sitting possibilities, contact Giulia directly at city@london-pet-sitting.com

The City and Wapping is a wonderful place for dog walking with gardens, small parks and the banks of the Thames.

The City of London is small, being the historic centre of London. It is just over 1 square mile in size (almost three kilometres) which is why it is known as the Square Mile and it is now the centre of the UK's Financial Services centre.

The City only has a population of 8,000, but over 300,000 people work there. This makes it the smallest ceremonial county by population and area, but the fourth most densely populated. As well as the centre of the financial industry, it is also the legal professional centre of London.

The city was defined originally by the wall built by the Romans in the second century to protect their port. The Roman London, Londonium, was established in 47AD. A bridge was built shortly afterwards close to where London Bridge stands today. Londinium was attacked and ransacked by Boudicas Iceni in AD60. It was then rebuilt and flourished until it overtook Colchester as the largest town in Roman Britain with a population of around 50,000.

London was already in decline before the Romans left due to problems of fire, plague and the instability of the Roman Empire. It suffered attacks from the Scots, Saxon raiders and the Picts. So by 410 AD, when the Romans officially left, Londonium was in a bad way and over time the population moved to Lundenwic - London market to the west of the City where Covent Garden is today.

Resettlement in the City started during the reign of Alfred the Great, the first King of England. He and his son, Ethelred of Mercia, refurbished the city laying new street plans and they built quays along the Thames. As people moved back within the old City walls, Ludencvic became Ealdwic - the old settlement.

Even in those days, Londoners were a law to themselves. Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror failed to get across London bridge or defeat them. William allowed them to surrender, but to subdue them, he granted London citizens a charter in 1075 and built three nearby castles - Tower of London, Montfichet's castle and Baynar's castle.

The City of London became a county in 1132, but continued to suffer from fires in 1123 and 1666. The latter destroyed 80% of the City and, while there were impressive plans to build a renaissance type city, the resultant building mirrored the medieval street plans due to the complexity of land ownership.

The eighteenth century saw rapid population growth as the Industrial Revolution started and the British Empire expanded. This resulted in expansion outside of the City boundaries.

The City's most famous landmark, St Paul's Cathedral, was finished 1708 by Christopher Wren.

The 19th century saw the City expand in all directions with the expansion of the docks to meet the trade that was passing through. The population at the start of the century was over 120,00. The addition of the railways and tube allowed London to expand even further. This resulted in the population of the city of London declining as people moved to the suburbs.

Like much of London, the city was badly damaged by bombing in the second world war. This destruction allowed the reconstruction of many larger developments, including the first UK skyscraper - the 600 foot NatWest Tower. The declining population has now been reversed with increasing residential developments.

There is a great public riverside walk along the entire shoreline of the City with the only remaining section not running along the river being a short stretch at Queenhithe. The walk runs along Walbrook Wharf and is only closed to pedestrians at this point when waste is being transferred onto barges.

Whilst there are no sizeable parks within the City's boundary, it does have a network of a large number of small open spaces. These range from formal gardens such as the one in Finsbury Circus, containing a bowling green and bandstand, to churchyards such as one belonging to the church of St Olave Hart Street, to water features and artwork found in some of the courtyards and pedestrian lanes.[37]

Gardens to walk around include:

• Barber-Surgeon's Hall Garden - London Wall

• Postman's Park - Aldersgate or King Edward Street

• Finsbury Circus - Blomfield Street or London Wall or Moorgate

• Jubilee Garden - Houndsditch

• Cleary Garden - Queen Victoria Street

• Portsoken Street Garden - Portsoken Street or Goodman's Yard

• Seething Lane Garden - Seething Lane

• St Mary Aldermanbury - Aldermanbury

• St Dunstan-in-the-East - St Dunstan's Hill or Idol Lane

• the churchyard of St Olave Hart Street - Seething Lane

• St Paul's Churchyard - St Paul's Cathedral

• West Smithfield Garden - West Smithfield

• Whittington Gardens - College Street or Upper Thames Street

The City is surrounded by the Thames and Southwark to the south, Westminster to the West, Islington to the North and Bromley and Wapping to the East.

Wapping owes a lot of its heritage to the proximity of the River Thames. The maritime connection is preserved through its riverside pubs such as Wapping Stairs and the Prospect of Whitby, claimed to be the oldest pub along the Thames.





There are not many historic buildings as they were demolished to build the docks or destroyed during the war. This led it to being a derelict area until the 1980s when the London Docklands Development Corporation transformed the area by converting the warehouses into luxury flats. Industry was also encouraged and Rupert Murdoch's News International Printing works were established here. This transformational plant led to the Battle of Wapping as it resulted in huge gains in productivity and the loss of many jobs.

Wapping was first settled by Saxons and centred on what is now Wapping High Street. Wapping was historically inhabited by maritime professions such as boat-builders and associated trades. Even the Execution Dock was here for the hanging of water borne criminals. Though the Execution Dock is long gone, you can see the giblet where the bodies were left hanging for three tides before they were removed. This included the infamous Captain Kidd. It was located beyond the low-tide mark so the Admiralty had jurisdiction here for four hundred years.

One of the greatest attractions for dog walkers is the Thames foreshore which can be accessed by some old stairs. There are always many amateur archaeologists here looking for old pottery and other treasures.

Wapping was the setting for the famous BBC sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part', with the central character being named after Wapping's Garnet Street. The most famous inhabitant is the TV presenter Graham Norton.

Wapping is close to Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Stepney, Shadwell, Bethnal Green and Radcliffe.

To know more about the Wapping and City dog walking and pet sitting possibilities, contact Giulia directly at city@london-pet-sitting.com