Millwall Park - Day 16 of my Isle of Dogs Project

The open spaces of Millwall Park on the Isle of Dogs, London

Day 16 and the weather is beautiful today for my photography project. Still with a nip in the air but the sun is out and it’s fantastic daytime photography weather. I’m going to walk the circular path around Millwall Park in the south end of the island, right next to Island Gardens DLR station and then cover a few of the streets I missed on a previous day when I had just walked along the riverside. This’ll take me on to the busy Westferry Road. You can see my route on the map here. Westferry Road is the main road running down the west side of the island and Manchester road runs along the east side. Westferry Road becomes Manchester Road right at the southernmost point of the U shaped route.

Millwall Park is much larger than Island Gardens. Where Island Gardens is more of a small park for walking the dog, taking in the views of Greenwich or taking a short stroll, Millwall Park has enough room for games, running and getting a proper walk around its perimeter path. It has a great playground for the kids with quite a long zip wire.

It has lovely views north to the towers of Canary Wharf which make for great photos against the open space of the park.

Mudchute Park and Farm is just a little to the north but you can’t see it at all from within Millwall Park which feels very much like a self contained space.

The zip wire in the playground of Millwall Park, Isle of Dogs, London

Looking towards Canary Wharf from Millwall Park, Isle of Dogs, London

The most surprising thing I came across was this massive nest. Amazing! It was huge! It was outside the park and as I walked across to get a better view of it, I wondered what on earth kind of bird it belonged to. I didn’t have to be puzzled for long because some parakeets flew towards it and chattered as they hovered around and went inside. I wonder if these nests are normally hidden within the trees but this was visible because the tree had been cut right back and all that was left was the nest and a couple of branches right where it sat. I managed to get a close up including the birds (just, I was still quite a way back). There could be some fantastic shots to be had there with a long lens and a bit of patience.

Parakeet nest on a quiet street on the Isle of Dogs, London

Moving on, I took a few photos of the inner arches of some old railway arches. These would make a fantastic backdrop for some model photos. I love the old bricks and even this graffiti on the section where I stood looked good to me, just enough to give them a grungy edge.

Old railway arches in Millwall Park, Isle of Dogs, London

The inner sections of some old railway arches in Millwall Park, Isle of Dogs, London

While I was in the park I took quite a few nature photos of trees and especially the blossom. The blooms are perfect right now and the trees are weighed down by it, it’s so abundant. I’m trying my hardest to get a good photo of it and today this was my best effort. I’m tempted to find a piece that I can take indoors and set against a background but I won’t do that this year 1) because it would be a shame to cut down such a beautiful living thing and 2) I believe it’s illegal to cut branches off trees in public parks anyway. Maybe if I can find somewhere that sells it or someone with a garden willing to give me a piece that’ll be something I might do next year.

Blossom in Millwall Park, Isle of Dogs, London

And lastly, in my later sections of the walk I came across The Ferry House, the oldest pub on the island. I don’t know when the ferry went out of business but I guess it might have been made redundant by the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which is a pedestrian tunnel under the river Thames.

The Ferry House, the oldest pub on the island, Isle of Dogs, London

The Ferry House sign, the oldest pub on the island, Isle of Dogs, London

So, for me, these were the most interesting things for me to take photos of on this walk. You might notice I’ve changed the heading from ‘challenge’ to ‘project’. That was because I originally called it a challenge when I started out in the winter time. It was intended to be the thing that would keep me busy through the winter restrictions. I didn’t know at that time that the restrictions would become a complete lockdown. I can’t call it a challenge in springtime, it’s just pure pleasure now. It was a pretty grey and grimy winter anyway so it’s much better for me to take photos with blue skies and lovely light.

I hope the skies are blue where you are!

Loren x

ps I featured this photo, one of my favourites, in an earlier blog with a surprising story about the sculpture. If you missed that, click here to read it.