Canary Wharf to Canning Town Tube Walk

Canary Wharf to North Greenwich

I leave Canary Wharf station and walk around until I find a foot bridge that crosses the South Dock. The position isn’t obvious from the GPS tracks but you will find it on the West side of the South Dock.

I head East out of the buisness area and into an area full of very normal looking flats.

Some of these flats must have the best views in London of the former Millenium Dome across the Thames.

My next stop – North Greenwich – is right next to the Dome. Here I am very close to my destination but there is a long way to go before I can reach it. I need to go back through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and then walk to North Greenwich.

On the way are tower block of flats and an area which is as close to being a beach on the River Thames as you are going to get.

Over on the other side of the River is the disused Greenwich Power Station which used to provide power to the Underground network.

I reach the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and for the second time on my Jubilee line underground walk, I head through it.

On the South side of the river I find a statue of Lord Nelson looking at The Isle of Dogs and a pub claiming to the first pub in the West at longitude 00’00’006″.

My walk takes me onto a completely different part of the Thames Path. Here on the West side of North Greenwich are many derelict factories and docks. In some areas building works are taking place. The path takes you right through all of these.

One of the strangest sections is where you walk right though a building site. Here a sign warns that you must wait for the crane driver’s signal before passing. Given the crane’s size and the way it was driving up and down this section I thought it would be a good idea to obey. I had less than a minute to wait before the crane operator waved me though.

Near the end of the building works the Millenium Dome – now called the O2 due to it being sponsored by the O2 telecoms company – becomes visible and I make my way to North Greenwich.

North Greenwich to Canning Town

If you thought my route between Canary Wharf and North Greenwich was somewhat indirect the route between North Greenwich and Canning Town is even more indirect! The Jubilee line takes a quick route under the Thames near the Dome. The next place where I can cross is at the Woolwich Foot Tunnel which is a good distance to the East.

I head away from the Dome and towards the Thames.

If you look very carefully at the below photo you may be able to make out the Thames Barrier in the distance. The Woolwich Foot Tunnel is about one mile beyone this so there is a long way to go. And remember that once the river is crossed I must go all the way back.

This part of the Thames Path has many block of flats along it, some private and some council. On the river side are various jetties and disused structures.

After a long walk I reach the Thames Flood Barrier. The circular discs rotate to bring up the barrier when there is a large surge of water along the Thames.

I walk along Woolwich Church Street until I reach the Woolwich Ferry approach.

The entrance to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel, and the tunnel itself look almost identical to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. Both appear to be managed by the same company. You’ll find the lifts are operated by bored looking staff rather than being automatic lifts.

On the North side of the tunnel is a satellite Earth station and general housing and factories.

I head along Albert Road and then over a foot bridge which is under the Connaught Bridge. This area gives good views of the London City Airport runway. I was surprised by just how close you can get to the planes and the runway.

In this area is the large Excel conference centre. Beyond it are new flats.

A walk up the Silvertown Viaduct gets me to my final stop for the day, Canning Town.

Jubilee Line Walk – Day 4 Summary

This is a really interesting section of the Jubilee line to walk. Getting to Canary Wharf took almost two hours, and the next section to Canning Town took two and a half hours.

One thought on “Canary Wharf to Canning Town Tube Walk”

  1. I just stumbled across your blog and not only has it proved useful (I was trying to see if I could cross the Thames on that dotted line shown on google maps) but it looks really interesting as well. I’m going to have a quick scan of the rest of your site.

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