Bow escorts, E3, between the two canals
Bow is E3 and it is further out than the rest of this site, which changes the shape of the bookings rather than the price of them. Roman Road down the middle, the Regent's Canal on the west edge, the Hertford Union on the north, Fish Island and the Lea on the east. Almost everything here happens at home, and the evenings run long.
Landmarks on the arrival slip
By postcode, never by name- E20 1FDStratford
- E20 1GLStratford
- E20 1GLStratford
- E14 8RSCanary Wharf
Nearest platforms
Walking time- Bow Road3 min walk
- Bow Church4 min walk
- Devons Road12 min walk
- Mile End13 min walk
Nearest carriages to Bow
Liana and Samanta give Bow as the stop they work most, and the 6 carriages above are the nearest on service tonight. Any of the 28 on the the board can be asked for by name instead.
Roman Road, Fish Island and the two canals
Roman Road is the old street, a market three days a week and a row of small shops the rest of the time, running east from the back of Globe Town. It has been a market since the eighteen forties and still feels like the property of the people who use it.
The Hertford Union Canal cuts along the top of the district, joining the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation in a mile and a quarter, with Victoria Park on the far bank the whole way. Fish Island sits in the crook where the canals meet, a grid of old industrial sheds turned into studios and flats, with the Olympic park on the other side of the water. Bow Quarter, further south, is the old Bryant and May match factory, now flats behind its original brick.
No hotel in E3, plenty a stop away
Bow has no hotel, and everything we do here is at a flat or a house: the terraces off Tredegar Road, the warehouse conversions on Fish Island, the blocks around Bow Quarter. It is a district of hosts rather than guests.
If you need a room, Stratford is one stop east. At E20 1FD there is a tall thin hotel with terraced gardens up its side, and two more share an address at E20 1GL. The riverside tower at E14 8RS is fifteen minutes south by road. We have no relationship with any of them and recommend none of them over another.
District line, DLR, and how long she takes
Bow Road, on the District and Hammersmith and City lines, is three minutes from Roman Road. Bow Church, on the DLR, is four minutes and runs down to Limehouse and the Wharf. Devons Road is twelve minutes south on the same DLR branch, and Mile End is thirteen minutes west, where the Central line joins the other two.
Her journey out here is the longest on this site: forty to fifty minutes by road from the west of town in the early evening, around thirty five later. Nell gives you the real number and will suggest a later start rather than promise one she cannot keep. E3 is Zone 2, so the fare remains inside the fee.
Who books out at E3
People who live here, and who know the journey is long and plan for it. The bookings are accordingly longer: three hours is the shortest most guests here consider, four is common, and the overnight is ordinary rather than an occasion. Artists and makers from the Fish Island studios. Families of houses on the quieter terraces who have the place to themselves for a weekend. Nobody out here is booking an hour between meetings, and the evenings are better for it.
Notice helps more here than anywhere else on this site. An hour of warning gets you whoever is free; an afternoon of warning gets you the name you actually wanted, because she can plan the run east around it rather than squeeze it in.
A long evening at home
Seven o'clock, a converted studio on Fish Island, four hours at £900. She arrives while it is still light and the first part of the evening happens on a roof terrace looking at water. Dinner is cooked rather than booked. By ten you are walking the towpath as far as the park gates and back, and the booking ends at eleven without anybody having looked at a phone.
Three hours at £700 is the shorter form of the same evening. Ten hours overnight at £1,800 is the one we take most often in E3, generally from a late start through to the morning.
Who comes east, and what adjoins Bow
Liana and Samanta are anchored in E3. Karolina, Patricia and Vanessa come east from Bethnal Green, Margo and Thea north from the river. The rest are on the board and the figure does not change with distance.
Bethnal Green is two stops west on the District line. Whitechapel is three stops the same way, and Limehouse is four minutes south on the DLR from Bow Church.
Two notes worth reading for Bow
Bow, asked and answered
01How long does she take to reach E3?
Forty to fifty minutes from confirmation in the early evening, nearer thirty five after nine. It is the longest run on this site and the desk quotes it honestly.
02Is there a minimum length out here?
No, an hour at £250 is bookable in Bow like anywhere else. Most guests choose three hours or more because of the journey, but that is their decision rather than a rule.
03Do you cover Fish Island and Bromley-by-Bow?
Yes, along with Old Ford and the streets up to the Hertford Union. All of it is the same figure.
04Is anything added for the distance?
No. E3 is Zone 2 and her travel is inside the fee, so the quoted figure is the whole of it.
05Can she stay through to the morning?
Yes. The overnight is £1,800 and runs ten hours, which out here usually means a late start and a slow breakfast.
Next along from Bow
The trains stop. We do not.
One message with the date, the time and the postcode, and the rest of the night is arranged quietly, anywhere from Hoxton down to the basin at Limehouse.