London Docklands Cycle Ride Part 2: Wapping, Canary Wharf, Rotherhithe

In Part 1, I covered the river frontage of the Isle of Dogs and the Royal Docks. In this second ride, I visited the old London Docks around Wapping, then headed over to the hectic modernity of Canary Wharf. I moved on to explore what is left of the old East India Docks, then cut down through the interior of the Isle of Dogs and crossed to the south bank of the river via the Greenwich foot tunnel. I then returned along the river mainly following the Thames Path through Rotherhithe. Here's a map of my route, with various places of interest.

Cycling is a good way to visit the area. From Waterloo station, I made directly to the start of the docks at Tower Bridge, crossing Southwark Bridge then picking up Cycle Superhighway 3. From Tower Bridge it is enjoyable cycling, largely traffic free. The Thames Path can be used on both banks of the river, though it leaves the river frontage quite often where there is no public path. Particularly on the South bank, this means carrying up and down quite a few steps. Cycling seems to be allowed on the waterside promenades in Canary Wharf (there were no signs forbidding it, anyway), but there are quite a few stairs and lifts to be negotiated. If you visit as I did on a nice day at lunchtime, expect crowds of office workers out taking a break (including lots of joggers).

Up until the eighteenth century, ships simply moored in the Thames - in the 'Pool of London' - either alongside riverside quays, or unloaded by smaller boats. In the 19th century, as Britain's overseas territories and trade expanded, the river become so crowded that it became essential to provide more mooring space, hence the creation of man made docks. From West to East from Tower Bridge they comprise St Katherine Dock (1828), the London Docks at Wapping (1799-1815), Limehouse Basin (1820), the West India Docks (1802) on the western side of the Isle of Dogs, the East India Docks (1803) to the north east, the Blackwall Basin (1802), the Poplar Dock (1828), and the Millwall Docks (1868).

On the south bank of the river, the only survivor is the oldest dock of all, the Greenland Dock, opened in the late 17th century, and much expanded through the 18th and 19th centuries. The extensive Rotherhithe docks complex has been largely built over.

The docks thrived until the 1950s (despite intensive bombing during the blitz), at which point containerisation required larger and deeper facilities, leading to their closure by the 1980s.

Several large bodies of water still remain, along with some original buildings and walls - see map and photos below. The area has been extensively redeveloped, most notably and impressively at Canary Wharf, around the West India Docks.

St Katherine Dock (1828)

Food stalls, St Katherine Dock

Monument to casualties of the blitz.: the docks and surrounding homes were a major target for the Luftwaffe, and thousands of civilians were killed and injured. 

Hermitage Basin; entrance to the London Docks (1799-1815). The entrance lock to the river is now filled in.

An ornamental canal now runs where the London West Dock used to be

Tall ship preserved at the Tobacco Dock

St George in the East, now surrounded by much development of the former News International Wapping offices: plus ca change.

Shadwell Basin (1828-54) provided an additional, eastern basin and entrance for the London Docks

St Pauls, Shadwell

Bascule bridge, Shadwell

Vent shaft for Rotherhithe tunnel, in King Edward VII memorial park, Shadwell

Thames Path, Shadwell

Limehouse Basin entrance locks: provided links to London's canals

Back Streets Poplar, surprisingly quiet, a stone's throw from Canary Wharf

Cottages built for Docks Police force

Dockmasters House (1807), now a restaurant

Old West India Dock wall: prevention of pilfering and collection of duties were a major concern, hence the docks had fortress like control of ingress and egress

Domed guard house

Old warehouses on West India Quay

Canary Wharf buzzing with office workers taking a lunch break

West India North Dock (the Import Dock, 1802)

There are several impressive pieces of public sculpture

One Canada Square (the tower also commonly referred to as 'Canary Wharf')

Jubilee Park

South Dock footbridge

Blackwell Basin

The new Billingsgate Fish Market

Poplar Dock (1822)

Remnant of East India Dock wall (Naval Row, Blackwall DLR)

'Rennaissance'. In background is what is left of the East India Import Dock (1803-06)

More remnants of the EI dock walls

Old entrance gateway to EI pepper warehouse, Leamouth Road

Entrance to Bow Creek ecology park, on a peninsula formed by a meander of the River Lea just before it joins the Thames

Footbridge over the R Lea at Canning Town DLR

Thames Ironworks commemorative tablet in Canning Town DLR station

Greenwich Prime meridian line, Blackwall: if you have a GPS, set it to show lat/long, and check where the lat measures zero degrees

The Gun pub, has a terrace with good river views

Blossom, Cubitt Town

Millwall Inner Dock (1868)

Millwall Outer Dock

Globe Rope Walk in Millwall Park (where the Globe Ropeworks had a long rope making shed)

Mudchute Farm: Mudchute was where much of the muck excavated in the making of the docks was dumped

Old disused and truncated  railway viaduct, Millwall Park

Greenwich foot tunnel

Cutty Sark, Greenwich

Bridge over Deptford Creek

Thames Path, Deptford

South Dock, Rotherhithe

Greenland Dock: this is actually the oldest dock, dating from the late 17th century. The other 'Surrey Docks' have been filled in and built over

Thames Path, Rotherhithe

Salt Quay pub, Rotherhithe

Mayflower pub, Rotherhithe

Salter statues, Bermondsey Wall: Dr Salter, his wife, daughter and cat. Dr S was a local hero because of his philanthropic medical work for the community. His daughter died aged 8 from scarlet fever.

At Butlers Wharf