The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in spite of being close to the centre of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and perhaps retaining the idea of it being the docklands area, has over 100 areas of parks and open spaces within its boundaries. These range from the huge (

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

) to small gardens and squares. In common with all the

London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

s, these green spaces provide "lungs" for the leisure pursuits of the inhabitants.

Principal parks and open spaces

The principal parks in Tower Hamlets are: *

: ,Victoria Park
, Tower Hamlets Council created 1884 *

Mile End Park Mile End Park is a park located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by World War II bombing. Some of the park is within Limehouse and Globe Town/Bethnal Green, wi ...

: , (stretches from

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

along the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in e ...

; international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

stadium * Mudchute Park: , which includes the largest urban farm in Europe * The

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

is partly in the borough Smaller parks within the borough include: * Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel * Allen Gardens in Shoreditch * Bartlett Park in Poplar *

Grove Hall Park Grove Hall Park is a 1.19 ha public park in Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London. It includes play areas, a ball games area, and a small walled memorial garden. Grove Hall Park was opened as a public park in 1909 following ...

in Bow *

Island Gardens Island Gardens is a public park located at the southern end of the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames. The park was formally opened on 3 August 1895 by local politician Will Crooks. The ...

: small . Thames Riverside Park *

King Edward Memorial Park King Edward Memorial Park is a public open space in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on the northern bank of the River Thames. It was opened in 1922 in memory of King Edward VII. With an area of 3.3 hectares, it is the 11th largest par ...

: in Shadwell *

Meath Gardens Meath Gardens is a park in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England, and opened to the public in 1894. Before it became a park, it was the Victoria Park Cemetery. Victoria Park Cemetery Land for Victoria ...

in Bethnal Green * St George's Gardens around the

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

church of

St George in the East St George-in-the-East is an Anglican Church dedicated to Saint George and one of six Hawksmoor churches in London, England. It was built from 1714 to 1729, with funding from the 1711 Act of Parliament. Its name has been used for two forms of p ...

* Weavers Fields in Bethnal Green * Middleton Green in Bethnal Green *

St Mary's Park St Mary's Park is a cricket ground and former football ground in Saint Kitts and Nevis. History Located at Cayon on the island of Saint Kitts, the ground has played host to the Leeward Islands cricket team for two major cricket matches in J ...

in Aldgate *

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is a local nature reserve and historic cemetery in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets within the East End of London. It is regarded as one of the seven great cemeteries of the Victorian era, the "Magnificent Seven c ...

Park in Bow and Ackroyd Drive Local Nature Reserve in Bow Common

Water

Tower Hamlets is a riverside borough, and one of the largest open spaces is the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

itself. A sign posted riverside trail exists from

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

, in the west, around the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

, and leaving the borough at the crossing of the River Lee. Although planning procedures have tried to open and protect access to the river, often private developers have locked gates and otherwise prevented access to what should be public areas. There are otherwise, public stairs providing access to the foreshore. * The River Lea forms the eastern boundary of the borough. The

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...

is suitable for walking and cyclists. It can be readily accessed from

Three Mills The Three Mills are former working mills and an island of the same name on the River Lea. It is one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres. The mills lie in the London Borough of Newham, but despite lying on the Newham side of the Lea, ...

(near Bow) and provides access to Hackney Marshes and the Lee Valley Park. *

Limehouse Cut The Limehouse Cut is a largely straight, broad canal in the East End of London which links the lower reaches of the Lee Navigation to the River Thames. Opening on 17 September 1770, and widened for two-way traffic by 1777, it is the oldest can ...

is a canal running through the borough from the River Thames at

Limehouse Basin Limehouse Basin is a body of water 2 miles east of London Bridge that is also a navigable link between the River Thames and two of London's canals. First dug in 1820 as the eastern terminus of the new Regent's Canal, its wet area was less than ...

, joining the

River Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...

, at

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which l ...

. * The

enters Tower Hamlets from the London Borough of Hackney, and meets the Thames at

. * The

Hertford Union Canal The Hertford Union Canal or Duckett's Cut, just over long, connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It was opened in 1830 but quickly proved to be a commercial failure. It was a ...

links the Regent's Canal to the

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

Lock. It forms the southern boundary to Victoria Park.

City farms

* Mudchute farm * Stepney City Farm (Formerly Stepping Stones farm, established 1979)

References

External links

Parks in Tower Hamlets

Mudchute Park and Farm

Stepney City Farm
{{Parks and open spaces in London City farms in London