This is part of a multipart photo walk around the former London docklands. I’ve put an index to all the articles at the bottom of the page.
History
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula in east London, on the north side of the Thames.
The Isle of Dogs was originally marsh until medieval engineers reclaimed the land by building earthen banks around its edge.
In the early 19th century, construction of the West India Docks began. The largest ship of that time, the SS Great Eastern designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was launched from the yard at Millwall.
The West India dock was quickly followed by the East India Dock and the Millwall Dock and rapid urbanisation of the area.
With the advent of containerisation the docks became obsolete. The last docks, West India and Millwall docks, closed in 1980, leaving the area derelict and abandoned.
Regeneration
In 1981 the London Docklands Development Corporation was created to redevelop the area.
New housing, office space and transport infrastructure were built.The area is dominated by the Canary Wharf development. It is a main financial centre in the United Kingdom and home to a cluster of high-rise buildings, including the third-tallest in the UK, Canada Tower.
End of the line – for now
We have reached the end of Part 2 of our docklands photo walks. The next photo walk article will cover the Rotherhithe docks redevelopment on the south side of the river.
Where is the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf?
Getting there
There are many transport links to the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf, including several Docklands Light Railway stops, Elizabeth line and Jubilee Line tube stops, buses and the Thames Clipper river boats.
Index to Docklands photo walk series
Photowalk #2 London Docklands north side – Part 1: St Katherine Dock to Limehouse Basin
Photo walk #4: London Docklands north side – Part 3: Royal Docks and the Thames Barrier
Photo walk #5: London Docklands – south side: Rotherhithe peninsula
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