Island Gardens

Island Gardens is a small park on the Isle of Dogs in East London, just north of the River Thames. It sits near the southern tip of the island, facing the classical buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital and the National Maritime Museum across the water. The park also contains the northern entrance of the Greenwich foot tunnel, which links the Isle of Dogs to Greenwich on the south bank. The DLR station of the same name stands beside the park, one of only four completely underground stations on the network. Its island platform lies just below ground level, with stairs and a lift providing access. The station opened in 1987 as the southern end of the initial DLR system, replacing an older railway terminus that had closed in the 1920s. Before opening, a test train crashed through the buffers because a software fault prevented the automatic braking system from working in time. The error was fixed before regular services began. In the late 1990s the line was extended south to Lewisham, requiring a new underground station slightly further inland. The rebuilt station reopened in 1999, designed by W S Atkins, with ventilation ducts built into its structure. Visitors to Island Gardens station find a quiet entrance hall leading down to a single island platform with tracks on either side. Above ground, the park offers benches and lawns with views across the river to Greenwich’s grand architecture. The foot tunnel entrance sits within the park, providing a pedestrian route to the museums and park on the opposite bank. Trains run frequently to Bank and Lewisham, with extra services at peak times. London buses 135, D7 and N550 stop nearby, making the area easy to reach.