What a wonderful little bit of London! Sitting on the Thames with a gorgeous view of the London skyline, the wharf is a peaceful respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The wharf is now an arts and creative industries centre, though it's been home to many other things in the past. Studios and galleries are available for rent and there are often open houses and art shows on the weekends. Though the wharf is pretty small, there's really a lot of fun stuff to have a poke through, even if you're not there for a show:
London's smallest museum - A tiny little shed that was formerly a doctor's hut. It is now dedicated to 19th century scientist Michael Faraday. Who is Michael Faraday? Well, he discovered that a magnetic field has the power to rotate the plane of polarized light passing through certain types of glass. Who knew? He also invented the electric motor, the transformer and the generator. Anyway, his little museum is set up to look like a working office complete with a desk covered in workbooks and notes scattered around for various projects. There's even a sleeping kitty in a basket on the bench. It looks like Michael has just popped out of the room for a bathroom break and will be right back to continue with his inventions.
Fatboy's Diner - An American style diner with cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes and the like. The diner actually did come from America. It was built in New Jersey in 1941 and also spent some time in Pennsylvania. I have no idea how it finally made it's way to England. The food is pretty good, though they tend to run out of pie pretty often. I'm guessing that means it's pretty damn good. The menu also features a list of 'american diner terminology', and I'd never heard of any of them. Beans are referred to as 'whistlers'? Gross.
Shipping container studios - A giant block of old shipping containers which are now used as studios. They are big and bright, look like giant Legos and I WANT ONE.
London's only lighthouse is located at Trinity Buoy Wharf. It's not too high up, only about 3 stories. But at the top are spectacular views of the Thames and Canary Wharf. A very haunting, new-agey type music is echoing through the lighthouse--a girl on the second floor will tell you that that's the Longplayer Tibetan bell sound: Jem Finer's 1000- year-long musical composition. Yep, this will be playing for 1000 years! It began 31 December 1999 and should (if everything goes to plan) continue to play, without repetition, until 3000.
Truly a lovely afternoon activity! read more