By Chris Guy posted on 11 Jan 2014 in Urban
Ferry crossing a wide river towards a modern city skyline, with high-rise towers and a domed arena visible beneath a clear blue sky.

The Woolwich Ferry and Canary Wharf

I’m going to start at the Woolwich Ferry, and although I’ve made this crossing both in a car and on a motorbike, I’ve never crossed as a foot passenger. Once on board I’m pleasantly surprised – the Ernest Bevin is spotlessly clean, freshly painted and has gleaming wooden benches below deck. I was expecting something a little more ‘lived-in’.

Car ferry Ernest Bevin crossing a river with cars aboard, city skyline and an Iceland sign on the riverside in the background.

The Ernest Bevin Woolwich Ferry

Sunlit wooden bench in a ferry's interior, light streaming through slats onto a green deck beside white partitions and overhead beams.

Interior of the Woolwich ferry

The ferry docks at the North Pier, North Woolwich, which along with Silvertown forms a long, thin strip of land that is essentially separated from the rest of East London by the Royal Victoria and Royal Albert docks which form a long body of water to the north.

There is plenty to explore here; the Tate and Lyle factory, City Airport, the Thames Barrier and the Brick Lane Music Hall…

However the first thing that greets the ring-road-navigator is the rather bleak ‘turn right for the North Circ’ signage – as ring roads go this is not the Périphérique or the M25.

Urban junction with two tall tower blocks beyond a brick wall, large billboards and road signs at a quiet crossroads under a clear blue sky.

None

I do turn right, and immediately come across the abandoned North Woolwich Station. This was originally part of the Great Eastern Railway network before becoming a museum in 1984. The museum closed in 2008 and the building now stands derelict.

Historic redbrick building with white stone pilasters and arched windows facing a quiet street under a clear blue sky.

North Woolwich Station (closed)

Heading back into North Woolwich and the Piers Estate I visit the rather utilitarian Church of St John with St Mary and St Edward. This is a joint Anglican and Roman Catholic church designed in 1968 by Laurence King and Partners.

Brick pub "Henley Arms" in dark brick with outdoor picnic benches, two caravans parked nearby and tall high‑rise flats behind under a clear blue sky.

The Henley Arms, Silvertown

Still on the Piers Estate, and walking west along Albert Road, this is the Henley Arms – a local’s local according to one review on Beer in the Evening. Given the rate of change in East London I will be fascinated to see how this place looks in five years time…

Urban construction site with excavators and workers in orange hi‑vis, muddy ground and temporary cabins; a church‑like tower rises in the background.

Work on London's Crossrail project

Continuing along Albert Road, I cross the footbridge and get my first proper look of the work going on to build Crossrail, which has previously been hidden behind the blue hordings. In the background you see the spires of the Brick Lane Music Hall.

Stone Gothic Music Hall with tall spire and arched windows, framed by bare trees and a gated forecourt under a clear blue sky, its reflection visible in a roadside puddle.

The Brick Lane Music Hall

The Brick Lane Music Hall based is now based here in the former St Mark’s Church. It originated in the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in 1992, before moving to Shoreditch and then onto this current site in Silvertown.

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