Showpiece of the Thatcher era - a new area of international free enterprise on the Isle of Dogs 3 - 4 miles from the old City. A chance for companies to cut costs and start afresh in state of the art office complexes designed for dealing rooms and the computer networks and no pubs for miles. Ah yes we get the idea. Unfortunately the infrastructure was left to the free market though the problem was just fixed 3 years ago with the opening of the Jubilee Line extension so commuters didn't have to endure journeys to work on the toy train otherwise known as the Docklands Light Railway. The idea was that upmarket advertising agencies such as Saachi and Saachi would move to the area making it a hip place to work but the bottom dropped out of the market so in order to fill the office space they had to attract more downmarket clients such as The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Daily Mirror. The company went bankrupt but somehow they managed to finish the building leaving a trail of destruction of bankrupt subcontractors behind them.
They're building again and this time a welcome trend in that they are building flat for people who want to live closer to where they work taking enough load of the tube to make it bearable. It's quite a nice place to walk around at weekends in the Summer with the office crowds gone from the waterside pubs and cafes you can have a day in London away from the sheep up in town for the day who hang about the South Bank wondering what to do.
As soon as it opened they realised they had to double the length of the trains and reinforce the bridges so like the M25 Surrey section the cost of the project doubled.
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A slightly enhanced picture postcard shot of The Tower of London (not for sale.) There's no flag flying indicating that there is no Scottish Queen in the dungeon though private parties are catered for and I believe they do weddings.
Round the corner to Tower Gateway station for the Docklands Light Railway, trains also run from the overcrowded station at Bank.
A train leaves West India Quays station enroute to Lewisham, South London. The building on the left will be a new hotel owned by an American chain.
We get a better view of the new construction by the old quayside. Interestingly global bank HSBC (the highest on the right) have just moved 6000 jobs to China so it might be worth phoning for a cheap room.
The longer shot shows how the planners have preserved the original cobbled streets mixing old and new.
A group shot of the offices by Canary Wharf Station. The Canary Wharf building is the tall one on the right.
Canary Wharf in all it's glory and some New York inspired building on the left. I guess the conga at the Christmas party strtched all the way to Southend. No that's stupid.
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Some water inspired by Far Eastern cultures and no we don't mean Upminster put in to relax the stressed out bankers and journalists.
A group shot.
Mirrored in the more Western-style fountain in direct line.
The elevated Docklands Light Railway which gives great views across the water.
Some Dutch or Scandinavian inspired architecture.
A flagship office of an international firm of turf accountants (Original Just Good Friends) provides an appropriate contrast. The difference with Corals is that you bet with your own money and they always make Brazil the favourites.