In 2019, I moved to the Isle of Dogs in East London. You may recognise it as the ‘bendy bit’ on the Eastenders intro. Why the Isle of Dogs? Well, Henry VIII supposedly kept his hunting dogs in neglected buildings on the island when they weren’t chasing stags in nearby Greenwich Park.
To discover my new home, I’d take laps round the island with side roads popping up ready to explore with new sites, sounds and smells. And after two years, I know the place like the back of my hand.
So take a stroll round the Isle of Dogs with me, your expert guide. Sure the Isle of Dogs doesn’t sound that inviting does it? It’s not even an island anymore, not really. But you will see beauty, variety and urban landscapes that fire the imagination.
The first sight I see as I leave home is Millwall Park. The left hand side of the Island is known as Millwall, and the right as Cubitt Town.
The park was once the fourth home ground of Millwall Rovers – now Millwall FC. They then moved on across the river to North Greenwich then New Cross.
As you exit the old ground, you meet East Ferry Road, running parallel to Mudchute Station. The name is literal – there really was an ‘old mud chute’, a vast wasteland containing mud shovelled from the Millwall Docks.
Continue up this road and you’ll reach South Quays leading onto Canary Wharf in the distance. But let’s take a left under the railway line instead.
This is Millwall Dock where until the 1970s it was a key landing point for the bricks, glass and stone pouring into the City of London.
Now a thriving housing development with beautiful, scenic views of the City and Canary Wharf. Houses stand amongst the old cranes that still perch on the edge of the water. What were spots for ships to unload are now water features that criss-cross the estates.
Now carry on along the water to the right hand side and you’ll reach Millwall Inner Dock, which eventually leads to South Dock then Canary Wharf.
‘The old and the new’ is perfectly captured here as towering skyscrapers over look the rusty fishing boats and canal boat homes that hug the water.
Take a step up onto the main road from Millwall Cutting Quay and you’re on Marsh Wall. The street is filled with hotels and food vendors for locals and the thousands working in Canary Wharf.
Now Canary Wharf has been crossed, I usually walk Manchester Road to return home.
But not before we detour out to the east river-side of the island. Walk far enough down and you’ll come across the Semuda Estate, a famous housing estate that regularly hosts film crews, most recently for now-on-Netflix Top Boy.
This will naturally lead you down to a pleasant beach, over looking the O2 Arena.
It’s just one long path from here and you’ll reach Island Gardens. The foot tunnel to get to Greenwich is here but that’s a whole ‘nother conversation…
…and home.
