I spent a day last week exploring a part of London I didn't know very well -- the docklands, the river area around east and south east London. The docks were formerly part of the Port of London, at one time the world's largest port. There is so much history here from pre-Roman times to the present. It's an exciting part of London that is being redeveloped and it is well worth a visit.
I started out across the London City Airport, located on Gallions Point Marina near the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham. Boats, planes, trucks, trains -- there is a lot going on here.
As I walked along the water front, I saw stunning new developments as well as empty and abandoned warehouses and factories like these one. I wonder what will be here in a few year's time? There is a lot of potential in this part of London.
One of the newer developments on the docklands is Emirate Airline's cable-car which crosses the River Thames in East London, between The Royal Docks near Canning Town and the Greenwich Peninsula. It is sponsored by Emirates Airline, hence its title. The Royal Docks Terminal, on the north side, is close to the Excel Centre (a huge convention center). The Greenwich Peninsula Terminal, on the south side, is close to the O2 Arena.
The cable-car ride takes 5 minutes to go from one side to the other and the views of London and the docks below are truly spectacular.
I didn't expect to find an open water swimming club next to the docks. I also was surprised to find an urban man-made beach with lovely, soft sand and plenty of kids happily playing.
The round domed building with the yellow cranes on top is the O2 Arena, a state-of-the-art arena that includes a bowling alley, clubs, cinema, exhibition spaces, restaurants and shopping. The only event I've attended at the O2 was a para-Olympic women's basket ball event. I'd love to see a concert there sometime.
I continued to walk along the water front to Canary Wharf and discovered the Museum of the London Docklands. It's a wonderful museum that covers the history of the river Thames and the docks and port of London through the centuries. I could have spent the rest of the afternoon there since there is so much history here -- from Roman times, through the centuries, the World Wars, and the centuries of the slave trade. If you feel like you've been to all the museums London has to offer, this is one that shouldn't be missed, especially if you love history.
Canary Wharf sits in the middle of the Isle of Dogs, called that because Henry the 8th kept his hunting dogs here for his deer park at Greenwich. Since the 1980, it has been redeveloped on top of the old East End docklands. If you pay attention, the evidence of trade and shipbuilding is still here. Some of old dock areas have been preserved, some with the original cranes, some with sailing and water sports and a few with old barges and sailing ships. New parks have sprung up around the water front with cafes, restaurants and cycle paths and walkways.
Canary Wharf is also one of London's two main financial centers. As you walk around you'll see every bank imaginable as well as trendy shops, a shopping mall, and loads of restaurants and street food stalls. There is still so much to explore of the docklands, I can hardly wait to return.
'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford.'
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