Hermitage Riverside Memorial Garden

This is a small gem of a park near the Thames River east of Tower Bridge. It’s a bit out of the way, in Wapping, and not very big at all. There are other larger parks nearby on the same stretch of road, but on the other side, so this is the only one that sits right alongside the river. It’s a great place to bring a picnic, or just to spend a few minutes enjoying the scenery.
It’s quite small, and if the sun is out on a weekend day, it gets pretty crowded. There’s a small hill in the center, which is where people that bring food and a blanket usuallly sit. But most days there are only a few people there, and they only spend a short amount of time, sometimes just walking the dog.
Given the price of the nearby properties, it’s very well kept, as nearly every day a worker comes by and spends some time making sure everything is cleaned up.
Because of its position, there are great views of Tower Bridge, and now the Shard. In fact, the night of the light show from the Shard, it was a good spot to view it. Also, when the queen’s jubilee river celebration occured, this is where her boat came to and turned around back up the river.
Finally, there are some permanently docked boats and barges there that serve as homes now, so it has the slight feel of a community nearby, although the dock is locked except for once a year. Last weeked was that open house, and we spent some time looking at the boats up close, and were allowed onto one of them. It would be an interesting way to live in London.