Great things are happening to London's East End. Big investment, including Thames Gateway, not forgetting the hot chance of London picking up the 2012 Olympics with gymnasts and rowing staged out here.

No wonder, this historic area, after decades of neglect, is on the up.

Yet visitors forget that there's so much more to London's East End than a Victorian psychopath.

Wapping on the river is every bit as historic as its sister village across the river, Greenwich, recently afforded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO.

That's why the growing popularity of the Wapping River Walk could prove a welcome East End antidote to Ripper murder trails.

The Wapping River Walk includes pirates, smugglers, press gangs and dastardly crimes on the high seas, amid a labyrinth of spooky alleys overshadowed by towering old 19th century brick warehouses.

"This stuff is much more atmospheric of old London than the Ripper," says Simon Rodway, London Blue badge guide. "Whitechapel saw a lot of slum clearance after the Ripper atrocities. Down here in Wapping, the streets are still pretty much intact. Here we guides can lead walking tours, with the locals joining in for a change just for fun, not like Whitechapel where you can get a brick lobbed at you by fed-up locals."

Wapping is where the world's modern global village started. In the 18th century ships departed from here carrying English speaking merchants, travelling all over the globe, doing commercial deals in English.

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To book a Wapping River Walk call Simon Rodway at APTG - the London based association of Blue Badge guides - 020 79397690