A great loop of the river Thames almost encircles the Isle of Dogs, a low-lying peninsula in the east of London. Once a place of docks and marshes, it is now best known for the towers of Canary Wharf. The land is not truly an island but a tongue of ground wrapped on three sides by a sweeping bend of the river. Its odd name has been explained in many ways, none certain. For centuries it was open marsh, used for grazing, until great docks were dug here in the 19th century. The docks made it one of the busiest corners of the port of London. Ships from across the world unloaded their cargoes here, and the area was packed with warehouses, wharves and the homes of those who worked the docks. It was a hard and busy place. After the docks closed in the later 20th century, the area fell into decline, its basins empty and its quays silent. For a time its future looked bleak. From the 1980s a great scheme of renewal began, turning the old docklands into a new business district. Tall office towers rose where ships had once berthed. At its heart stands Canary Wharf, a cluster of gleaming towers that has become a major centre of banking and business. Its skyline is now famous across the city. New railways and an automatic light railway were built to carry the crowds of workers to and from the district. Transport links knit it back into the city. Amid the towers, stretches of the old docks survive as water features, with walkways, bridges and moored boats. Reminders of the past sit among the new. To the south, an open green called Mudchute holds a city farm, a surprising patch of country life among the urban scene. Children come to meet the animals. A foot tunnel runs beneath the river to Greenwich on the far bank, linking the peninsula to the historic town opposite. Walkers pass under the Thames on foot. It lies in the East End of London, wrapped by a great bend of the Thames downstream of the old city.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: London, United Kingdom, E14 3SH