Secret London River Thames Garden

Tower Bridge is one of those places in London that is always heaving with excited tourists…if your American you probably think it is London Bridge, but if that’s what makes them happy so be it. It’s only a name after all..! Hell maybe Mayor Boris Johnson should just swap the names over between Tower Bridge and London Bridge and the problem will be solved. However London Bridge doesn’t look too much like a tower..!

Not many tourists head east along the River Thames, beyond Tower Bridge – most just get as far as Tower Bridge and that’s it. A few of the more knowledgeable or adventurous tourists stray a little bit further from the well trodden path and head to St Katherine Dock, where you will find a pretty little marina and lots of overpriced tourist trap kinds of places to eat and drink!

Any tourists that head further east along the river after St Katherine Dock are usually lost and confused, they have quite probably taking a wrong turning. Only 5 minutes walk from St Katherine Dock is a quiet garden with great views of Tower Bridge and the River Thames. It is called Hermitage Riverside Memorial Garden. It may not be the prettiest garden in the world. In fact it is an absolute disgrace that the Mayors office allowed the developers to get away with such an unimaginative and second rate design at such a fantastic location. They should hang their heads in shame, all I can think of is that some pencil pusher received a nice wad of notes to approve this feeble effort of a garden. In the late 1990′s when the land came up for redevelopment, part of the deal was that the developers had to create a memorial park.

Even though Hermitage Riverside Memorial Garden isn’t the prettiest garden in London, it is clean, there are plenty of seats with great views and it is usually fairly quiet. I have been there a few times and on Saturday past, when the sun was shining like crazy it was the busiest that  I have ever seen it, there were about 8 people there.

Hermitage Riverside Memorial Garden was created as a memorial to the residents of the East End of London killed in the second World War. The garden sits on the former site of Hermitage Wharf, which was destroyed by a firebomb in December 1940. There is also an interesting looking Dove sculpture by Wendy Taylor, which dominates the park. It is just a pity the rest of the park wasn’t as inspirational as the sculpture!

Even though Hermitage Riverside Memorial Garden is right on the banks of the River Thames and is a mere 10-15 walk form the Tower Bridge and the Tower Of London  it is still most definitely a secret London garden. It may not be the prettiest garden in the world, but it is still a good place to escape the crowds and madness of cental London.

Related posts:

1. Secret London Hideaway
2. Listen Here Americans In London Its Tower Bridge, Not London Bridge
3. Tower Bridge London | It’s So Exciting Woooh
4. Tower Bridge Of London Town
5. London Bridges Images Courtesy Of The Wandering Scotsman