Walking with friends: Canary Wharf to Island Gardens... and beyond

Saturday September 19, 2026

Cloudy with sunny spells with occasional light drizzle and a high of 19°C (66.2°F).

It had been quite a while since Steve, Gary and myself had taken a trip to London together, so we were more than eager to make up for this oversight.

Gary arrived at Watford underground station first, having been driven down from Peterborough early this morning, followed by myself, who had walked from home, and finally Steve, who walked about the same distance as myself. 

After passing through the ticket barriers we headed down to Platform 1, from where we boarded a Baker Street-bound train, which we took to Finchley Road and transferred onto a Jubilee line train to Canary Wharf.

At Canary Wharf we exited via the west exit and took in the view across the Middle Dock to the Newfoundland building, before beginning our walk through Jubilee Park. The trail of fountains which meander through the park were all drained, except for one, to preserve water following the unprecedented heatwaves that the country had experienced. We left the park, crossed Upper Bank Street and entered Montgomery Square, exploring the various sculptures that are on public display, before continuing on to Hawksmoor Wood Wharf, where the giant 'Whale on the Wharf (Skyscraper)' towers over the water of the dock.

Onward we continued through Union Square and Harbord Square Park, admiring the new towers that are constantly springing up with unique architecture. Soon we were approaching Preston's Road, which we crossed, heading to our first stop of the day. The Gun public house. As we had arrived just before opening time, we took a seat in the garden, where we looked out over the Blackwall Reach. From this vantage point we could see Virginia Quay, Trinity Buoy Wharf, The O2 Arena, and south towards Greenwich.

When the pub opened we headed inside and were immediately struck by the interior. There has been a pub on this site for over 250 years, with this building taking its name from the cannon which was fired to celebrate the opening of the West India Import Docks in 1802.

It was here in the late 18th century that Lord Nelson would meet Lady Emma Hamilton in one of the upstairs rooms, for their secret assignations. He also purchased a property just north of the pub, which is still called Nelson's House.

After ordering drinks we took to exploring this amazing and historic building. The main bar was spacious, with wood panelling and cabinets, with the tables dresses for lunch service, and historic photos and portraits on the walls. In the smaller bar the walls were adorned with pistols and muskets, of varying ages, along with historic photos, with one wall taken up with a huge fireplace. To the left of the fireplace the corner of the room was curved, showing where the spiral staircase was situated. This staircase has a spy-hole, so that smugglers could keep an eye out for 'The Revenue Men'.

The red Room, although smaller, had a fireplace, cabinets containing books, with the walls showing off the stuffed heads of foxes and wild boar. A hallway then took through to the Cabin Room, which was completely panelled, with pewter tankards hanging from the ceiling. Outside the covered terrace offered views across to Greenwich Peninsula, with heaters for the colder evening. It was here that we sat and sipped our drinks.

On leaving The Gun we rejoined Preston's Road and headed onto the Thames Path, following the curve of the Isle of Dogs. We passed the Isle of Dogs pumping station and continued south, stopping at London Yard Draw Dock, where we went down onto the beach. broken tiles, pottery, pieces of clay pipe, smooth slate, bricks, and rusted ship nails littered the foreshore as we took in the view, all the while continuing south.

Millennium Wharf, the Dudgeon's Wharf Firefighters Memorial, Saunders Ness, and Caledonian Wharf were soon behind us, as we made our way onto the next piece of beach, at Newcastle Draw dock. This particular piece of foreshore offered us a unique view of Greenwich Power Station, Trinity Hospital, the Old Royal Naval College, the Royal Observatory and Cutty Sark.

We then headed up the dock and entered The Watermen's Arms. This Grade II listed was opened in 1853, as The Newcastle Arms, and was designed by William Cubitt, as part of his Cubitt Town masterplan. It was renamed The Watermen's Arms in 1962, when the television broadcaster Daniel Farson took over the struggling venue. With drinks ordered and poured we explored the building before heading outside to the hidden garden.

On leaving the pub we headed along Saunders Ness Road, passing Island Gardens, now moving in a westerly direction around the southern tip of the Isle. We then joined Ferry Street, passing the old slipway for the Greenwich Steam Ferry, before reaching The Ferry House pub. This pub claims to be the oldest pub on the island, so we went in. I have been here a number of times, while Steve has visited once, while Gary had never been here. 

The main bar area was quite busy as they were showing the Millwall vs West Ham United match on the television. To Gary's surprise both West Ham and Millwall fans were mingling in the pub. After purchasing drinks we stepped outside to enjoy the weather in the secluded garden area. The match ended in a draw, with no trouble but a lot of banter among the patrons.

We left the pub in search of food, but instead found The Lord Nelson. This is another historic pub with a lot of history. Built in 1855, by Henry Johnson, it would become the headquarters for Millwall Rovers, from 1886-1890. The pub was exceedingly busy with people wearing West Ham, Millwall, Arsenal, and Liverpool football shirts, all watching cricket on the countless televisions.

Once we had finished our drinks we headed west, along Westferry Road, still in search of food. However, what we discovered was The Ship. This is yet another historic pub, dating from around 1835. The Ship is located next to Burrells Wharf where Isambard Kingdom Brunel oversaw the construction of the SS Great Eastern. It is said that he, and his senior engineers, used the private rooms at the pub to drink, dine, and hold meetings. The Ship was almost empty, save for a few regulars and a dog.

Just up the road from The Ship we found a fast food restaurant. With food ordered and soon devoured, we continued on our stroll by continuing along Westferry Road, before heading up Spindrift Avenue until we reached Clippers Quay and the Millwall Outer Dock Crescent. We followed the path around the Millwall Outer Dock until we reached Pepper Street. Here we headed east, crossing East Ferry Road, and entered The George pub. 

Again this is another survivor of the Docklands boom, having been built between 1864-1865, along with dozens of Victorian terrace houses, by local developer George Read. With its proximity to London's inner docks it was a tough, working-class dockers' pub. Having said that, the American actress Jayne Mansfield paid a highly publicised visit to the pub, on November 14, 1959, when she visited the pub and poured pints for the Millwall dock workers.

This was the busiest pub that we would visit on the island, as it has a two-piece band performing songs in the main bar, where a party was in full swing. Despite the feel of it being a true 'locals' pub, we were warmly welcomed to join the celebrations, which we did. A silver trophy, placed among the bottles of spirits behind the bar, caught my eye. It was engraved with...

"DOCKLANDS SETTLEMENTS

Dragon Boat

Champions"

On leaving the pub we headed back along Pepper Street, heading west, crossing the Millwall Docks via the Glengall Bridge, until we reached the Pepper Street Tavern. Unlike the other pubs that we had visited the Pepper Street Tavern was a newer building, opening in 1993 when the Docklands went through a massive regeneration. Still, it offered wonderful views over the Millwall Outer Dock, with the original dock cranes towering over the building.

Suitably refreshed we left the tavern and joined Tiller Road, heading west, until we rejoined Westferry Road and headed north. Our final stop, or what was to be our final stop, was The Tooke Arms, a post-war 'flat roof' estate pub. The original Tooke Arms, which stood a little further south, was demolished in the 1970s, following the construction of the Barkantine Estate in the late 1960s. Although not much to look at it is celebrated as an endangered, authentic slice of working-class East End life. It was also used as 'The Sinful Monkey' in the television series 'MobLand'.

On leaving the pub we headed north along Westferry Road until we turned east along Bank Street. Steve and I were more than happy to head towards home, but Gary decided that we should have one more. So we headed along Mackenzie Walk and entered The Henry Addington. This pub, built during the regeneration of the docklands area in the 1990s, was named for Henry Addington, Prime Minister between 1801-1804. As Prime Minister, he officially authorised and opened the first of the historic, high-walled docks in 1802. This laid the foundation for what would become the Canary Wharf Estate.

Following this unexpected drink we made our way to Canary Wharf underground station, using the same entrance through which we had exited earlier, and made our way down to the Jubilee line westbound platforms. Unusually the train that arrived was fairly empty, so we were able to find seats for the short journey to Baker Street.

At Baker Street we travelled up the escalators, up the stairs to the platform level, then up more stairs to the ticket hall, which we passed through, before climbing more stairs to have our photo taken with the statue of Sherlock Holmes, before climbing more stairs for one last drink at The Metropolitan Bar.

Suitably refreshed we headed back into Baker Street station, where snacks were bought. As we waited on Platform 1 for our train I noticed some fans wearing American Football jerseys. 

Intrigued I asked them where they had been and how they had got on. It turns out that they had been to watch the Kansas Jayhawks, their team, play the Arizona Sun Devils, of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Football, at Wembley Stadium. Arizona won the Union Jack Classic 24-17. Having been a fan of the NFL for a good few years I asked for a photo with them, which they were more than happy to oblige.

All in all it was another fantastic day out, exploring new places with great company.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Car - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• DLR - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Ferry - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Overground - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• River Boat - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Taxi - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Train - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Tram - 0.0 miles (0.0 kms)
• Underground - 48.6 miles (78.21 kms)
• Walking - 6.65 miles (10.70 kms)