A Wet Canary Wharf

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I do admire the weather forecasters in England, if they predict rain, the are usually right and not only do they accurately predict that it will rain but if they tell you its going to start at 11am, four times out of five (my experience so far) they get the time correct as well.

I didn't want to wander too far away from home today because of the forecast, so I again hit the tube and jumped on the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf (a five minute trip from here).

My first impression of it was that it’s an ultramodern, thoroughly planned mini city though on arrival I though it lacked atmosphere, there were very few people on the streets and there was no traffic at all. It was only when I went back underground that I discovered the subterranean life that exists here.

In bad weather there is no need for the workers to head to the surface, there is enough space below for the 60 000 of them who commute here to wander around during breaks from the office routine.

If you don’t mind walking in the rain, you can have much of the ground level public space (and there is a lot of it) to yourself on days like these. Everyone seems to stay underground - quite sensible really, why get wet?

When Canary Wharf was first designed a fundamental requirement was to have unique and picturesque open spaces around the building and docks and they have certainly achieved this. The only one complaint I have is that it lacks enough cover to allow you to move between streets without getting wet (Yes I know, I could have headed underground!)

Although Canary Wharf is principally a business district there is a great range of shops, bars, cafes and restaurants for non-workers and tourists to enjoy.

I found my way to Carluccio’s Café (owned by the rotund Italian TV cook Antonio Carluccio), thanks to long distance sms directions from friends Bob and Helen in Sydney and I had a delicious cappuccino. I also bought a few things to take home for dinner tonight. Interesting to note that every staff member I spoke to at Carluccio’s seemed to have an Australian accent. You just can’t escape it!

Anyone travelling to London should make sure they allocate some time to commute to Canary Wharf though I’d suggest you pick a fine day to do so and possibly avoiding the lunchtime rush and peak hour squeeze.

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Photos

Its Not That Busy!
A traffic light sculpture at Canary Wharf

Just Before the Rain
Canary Wharf Clocks..handy if you don't have a watch!