Privatised London: the Thames Path walk that resembles a prison corridor

Just past the Prospect of Whitby, reportedly the oldest tavern still standing on the banks of London’s River Thames, is an alleyway down to the water bordered by high metal fences, coils of razor wire and a large security camera trained down upon the flagstones. George Jeffreys, the notorious 17th century ‘Hanging Judge’, once counted among the pub regulars here.