Long-time London resident and avid museum and theatre-goer. I started this blog in 2014, and got serious about it in 2020 when I realised how much I missed arts and culture during lockdowns. I go to a lot more events than anyone would think is sensible, and love sharing my thoughts in the forms of reviews, the occasional thought piece, and travel recommendations when I leave my London HQ.
A circular walking tour around Island Gardens and Mudchute. This end of the Isle of Dogs is much less visited than Greenwich just over the river, but nonetheless offers many interesting sights. Plus a farm!
Our trusty friend Gilly Cameron-Coooper is back to guide us on a walk from her book Walking London’s Waterways. Today’s circuit is titled ‘Bulk Cargo: Mudchute and Isle of Dogs East.’
A Forgotten Spot Between Two Bigger Draws
The Isle of Dogs is an interesting place. We don’t 100% know where it gets its name from. The most common explanation is that royal hunting dogs were kept here, but that is just one possibility. Like a lot of London, it started out kind of marshy before reclamation work made it productive. There were initially farms on the Isle of Dogs, then dockyards, and now skyscrapers. The action has mostly taken place at the Northern end, though. We saw some of this on a recent walk from Wapping to Westferry. The Southern end of the Isle of Dogs not only has to compete with Canary Wharf, but with Greenwich as well, which is just over the water.
This history has had an effect on the place. Island Gardens is a little park at the tip of the Isle of Dogs, where the Greenwich foot tunnel emerges. Mudchute lives up to its name as a rather muddy place, with a big park and urban farm. There are a lot more council estates and small-scale high streets than skyscrapers down here. But this end of the Isle of Dogs has seen its fair share of history nevertheless. With the help of Gilly Cameron-Cooper’s book Walking London’s Waterways, this is what we are about to explore.
Isle of Dogs Walking Tour – Along the Riverfront from Island Gardens
My favourite way to arrive at Island Gardens is via the foot tunnel from Greenwich. Opened in 1902, it replaced a longstanding ferry service. You will remember me talking about this on my recent post about Greenwich, and in fact that’s where these photos were taken. In the top photo you can just make out the exit on the Isle of Dogs side in the background.
The view across to Greenwich from Island Gardens is lovely. Island Gardens is a DLR station, but the name actually refers to the park at the very tip of the Isle of Dogs, opened in 1895. Canaletto’s painting Greenwich Hospital from the North Bank of the Thamesis based on the view from approximately this spot.
This little sandy inlet is Johnson’s Drawdock. Boats would pull in here at high tide, wait for the tide to go out, then unload their cargoes at low tide. It’s one of the few public inlets that could be used by local industry. Public access was restored in the 1980s as part of the Docklands regeneration.
Riverfront access is intermittent along this stretch of the Thames. You often need to find a route through a housing estate or by taking a back street. The views are always worth the extra effort.
The Ferry House. This early 19th Century pub was once the boarding point for the Greenwich ferry. Great idea to be able to keep an eye on the ferry with a pint in hand. If you are lucky enough to do this walk outside of lockdown, this is a handy rest and refreshment point.
Isle of Dogs Walking Tour – Burrells Wharf to Millwall Dock
Burrells Wharf is the site of a former factory for the manufacture of chemical colours. Cameron-Cooper explains that the smoke from factory chimneys would dye neighbouring pigeons’ feathers pink!
On this spot, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship Great Easternwas built and launched. At the time it was the largest ship ever built, and could carry passengers from the UK to Australia without refuelling. The ship was never really commercially viable, but did have an important part in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
This building wasn’t mentioned in the book, but caught my eye. It’s called The Space, and is a performing arts centre in a former Presbytarian mission. After the London Docks closed, the congregation declined and the church eventually fell into disrepair. A local group restored it for its current purpose from 1989. It looks like a good spot when it’s able to run events!
Millwall Dock. You may recall we walked down the other side of it on our Wapping to Westferry walk. Grain stores and a flour factory previously dominated this area. Note the private boat moorings in the third image. Maybe a theoretical selling point but clearly not a well-used feature of this dockside housing.
A little enclave of Victorian housing looks out of place amongst all the post-modern and later housing estates.
Isle of Dogs Walking Tour – Mudchute Back To Island Gardens
I always seem to come to Mudchute in the winter, when it is a little bleak and, well, muddy. The mud in Mudchute came from the construction of Millwall Dock – the park is literally the earth that was removed on chutes to allow the dock to be built. In 1974 a public campaign prevented the Greater London Council from building a high rise estate here. And from 1977 a local group began to transform the park into a working farm.
The best part about Mudchute Park having a working farm is, of course, the animals. Here you can see a few goats and some naughty donkeys. It’s a treat to be able to see something like this in inner London.
From Mudchute we head past housing estates of various post-war vintages, and arrive back at the river at Saunders Ness. ‘Ness’ derives from the French ‘nez’, or nose, and refers to the shape of the land here. Across the river you can see the power station at Greenwich, the furthest reach of our recent walk.
And to finish our walk, we head back to Island Gardens station or the Greenwich foot tunnel, past more river views and inlets. I hope you enjoyed this excursion around an often-overlooked part of London’s Isle of Dogs.
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3 thoughts on “The Isle of Dogs – Mudchute and Island Gardens”
3 thoughts on “The Isle of Dogs – Mudchute and Island Gardens”