Docklands

View over North Dock in Canary Wharf, with skyscrapers in the background. View over North Dock in Canary Wharf, with skyscrapers in the background.
Photo by me, questionable composition.

London’s former East End quaysides and basins form the docklands, I’m questionably choosing to count North Greenwich too. As ships moved out of London to container ports the docks went into decline, with the last ship leaving in 1981.

Since then the docklands have been at the centre of a series of contentious redevelopment efforts, spearheaded by the London Docklands Development Corporation who organised the construction of the Docklands Light Railway, London City Airport and much besides.

This process is still going on at great pace. The few remaining pockets of post-industrial wasteland surrounded by glitzy flats can give the area an otherworldly feel.

View of Royal Victoria Dock, a huge empty expanse of water lined with cranes. View of Royal Victoria Dock, a huge empty expanse of water lined with cranes.
Preserved cranes at the Royal Victoria Dock are a reminder of the past…

Things to do

The exterior of the London Museum Docklands, a converted brick built warehouse
Photo by me, a rare old building in Canary Wharf

London Museum Docklands

The London Museum Docklands covers the history of trade along the Thames across three cavernous floors. There was much more to see than I expected so I had to rush through the modern history at the end, don’t make my mistake!

Free - Paid exhibitions

www.londonmuseum.org.uk
View from the balcony inside the now gallery, its all glass and gold trim.
Photo by me, a pleasant but small modernist building.

NOW Gallery

Located opposite the O2 Arena (neé Millenium Dome) and a short walk to the cable car, the NOW gallery is smaller than I thought, with no permanent collection, but worth a look if there’s an exhibition on.

Free

nowgallery.co.uk
View of Container City 2, a colourful block of flats built of shipping containers for artists.
Photo by me, Container City 2 adds some colour.

Trinity Buoy Wharf

Hidden away on the tip of the Leamouth Peninsula, Trinity Buoy Wharf is an interesting artists retreat. There’s not much for casual visitors but on a sunny day I enjoyed seeing a few sculptures, reading some information boards and pretending to be bohemian.

Free

www.trinitybuoywharf.com

Parks & Gardens

Ferns and trees beneath a wooden roof structure. Ferns and trees beneath a wooden roof structure.
Photo by me, the east side.

Crossrail Place

The roof garden at Crossrail Place was awarded a prize for the best “Innovative Design of a Contemporary Garden” in 2017, and I was initially inclined to agree that it is a much appreciated break from the glass & concrete of Canary Wharf.

The problem is that the impressive roof of tessellated triangles - some open to the air, some with perspex panels - appear to have been custom designed to trap birds. I was unhappy to see a sparrow fruitlessly struggle against one of the panels like a moth might. A shame, because the meridian themed garden is otherwise lovely.

canarywharf.com
View of the hedges lining the centre of the park, looking towards the river. View of the hedges lining the centre of the park, looking towards the river.
Photo by me, looking towards the river.

Thames Barrier Park

Next to Pontoon Dock DLR station but I walked over from the cable car through Royal Victoria Docks - a very pleasant experience if the weather is co-operating.

This is a sizeable and quite pretty park, with a sunken garden filled with wavy hedges, reminding me - and perhaps only me - of the old London County Council coat of arms.

Views of the Thames Barrier are on offer, and this park is a much nicer place to see it from than the thames path south of the river. Facilities are good too - there are public toilets and a coffee shop.

www.london.gov.uk

Viewpoints

View from the cable car, showing the Royal Victoria Docks from a great height. View from the cable car, showing the Royal Victoria Docks from a great height.
Photo by me, rooted in place with fear.

IFS Cloud Cable Car

The North Greenwich to Royal Docks cable car is a deeply silly thing, having been built in 2012 as part of the Olympics, supposedly as a viable transport option for the area.

Suffice to say a slow moving cable car that chucks you out next to the Excel centre but not much else was not a smash hit with commuters, but TFL continue to put it on the tube map.

It is, however, a fun way to see the city as long as you pick a day with good visibility. I successfully did that but neglected to consider the wind. Definitely try to pick a calm day, being rocked around by gusts when 90 metres up is pretty unnerving to say the least.

£7.50 - They take contactless / Oyster

tfl.gov.uk