Inspired

King Edward Memorial Park Foreshore

Ratcliffe · 0.6 miles

Set on the northern bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the foreshore of King Edward Memorial Park lies close to Ratcliffe and is managed by Thames Water. Covering 3.3 hectares, the site ranks among the larger parks in the borough and carries a Green Flag Award for its standards and biodiversity. Visitors can follow the Thames Path as it runs through the park, use the wheelchair-accessible paths and public toilets, and enjoy a range of facilities including a bandstand, waterfront benches, a children’s play area, a bowling green, an all-weather football pitch and tennis courts. The ground has historic links to the early 16th century, when Sir Hugh Willoughby launched an expedition for the Northeast Passage from the present location; a stone and plaque near the former Rotherhithe Rotunda mark that event. Later, the area hosted the Shadwell Fish Market from 1885 before being converted into a public space. After a planning committee reported on the scheme in 1911, the park was formally opened on 24 June 1922 by King George V and Queen Mary as a memorial to King Edward VII. It now serves the surrounding districts of Shadwell, Wapping, Stepney, Ratcliff and Limehouse, providing a venue for school sports days, religious festivals and everyday recreation.

Ragged School Museum

Stepney · 0.6 miles

The Ragged School Museum is a museum in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The museum was opened in 1990 in the premises of the former Dr Barnardo's Copperfield Road Ragged School. The school opened in 1877 to serve the children of Mile End with a basic education. It was the largest of its kind at the time. It closed in 1908 when sufficient government/London County Council schools had been established to take over the work. At its height the school had more than 1,000 pupils on weekdays, and 2,400 Sunday school attendees. The team continued to organise events for the local community even after the school closed. The building saw later use as a factory.

Ackroyd Drive Green Link

Mile End · 0.6 miles

Ackroyd Drive Greenlink is a 0.87 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Bow Common in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It forms a green corridor between Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park and Mile End Park.

Mile End Park

Mile End · 0.6 miles

A linear green corridor of roughly 32 hectares runs through former industrial land that was heavily bombed during the Second World War, linking the Regent’s Canal to the east with the Hertford Union Canal in the north. The site, now known as Mile End Park, lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is operated by Tower Hamlets Council. Open 24 hours a day, the park is split by Mile End Road; a pedestrian bridge designed by Piers Gough and opened in July 1999 provides a crossing near Mile End underground station. The park is divided into several themed zones. The Play Arena and Children’s Park cater to younger visitors, while the Ecology Park contains a lake, an ecology building, a wind turbine and a climbing wall. An Arts Park, a Green Bridge, a Terraced Garden, an Adventure Park and a South Park offer additional open-space activities. Sports facilities are concentrated at the southern end, where Mile End Stadium and the adjacent Mile End Park Leisure Centre, opened in 2006, house a four-court sports hall, two swimming pools (including a competition-standard pool), fitness studios, a health suite and a sauna. Nearby, an extreme-sports centre and an electric go-kart track expand the range of pursuits. The Ragged School Museum, occupying former warehouses on Copperfield Road, faces the park’s western edge. The site has received several recognitions, including the London First Award and an Institution of Civil Engineers Award of Merit for the Green Bridge, and is supported by an active Friends group.

Westferry Circus

South Quay · 0.6 miles

Westferry Circus is a road interchange and public space in Canary Wharf estate in London, and contains a two-level road interchange. There are two roundabouts, one above the other. It was designed by Laurie Olin. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

Russia Dock Woodland

Docklands · 0.6 miles

A narrow strip of woodland runs through the Rotherhithe peninsula, forming a linear park that separates the area from Bacon’s College in the north down to the Dalton Cross neighbourhood in the south. The site occupies the footprint of the former Surrey Commercial Docks, where timber from Norway, Russia and Sweden was once off-loaded for newsprint and furniture production. After the docks closed in the early 1970s, the London Docklands Development Corporation filled the basins – leaving only a thin watercourse – and planted trees across 34.5 acres in 1980, creating the present wood. Management of the park passed to Southwark Council, which, together with the Friends of Russia Dock Woodland, maintains a network of footbridges such as the Alfred Salter bridge and paths including Waterman’s Path alongside the stream. Adjacent to the woodland, the artificial Stave Hill mound, built in 1985 from demolition waste, supports a viewing platform topped with a bronze relief map by Michael Rizzello. From there, vistas stretch across Canary Wharf, the City and, on clear days, reach as far as Wembley Stadium. The area has been designated a local nature reserve by Natural England, supporting habitats of scrub, orchard, grassland, ponds and a short chalk stream, and attracting hedgehogs, bats, butterflies and dragonflies. The park is listed on OpenStreetMap as a woodland near the Docklands district. Access is on foot via the established bridges and paths; there is no admission charge, and the council provides basic upkeep of the routes and viewing structures. The woodland, together with the neighbouring Stave Hill Ecological Park, offers residents and visitors a green space for walking, wildlife observation and casual recreation.