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boats moored in london docklands

New Developments

Working with businesses both large and small, we are energetically creating new and exciting leisure opportunities, tourist attractions, cafes, restaurants, trip boats and waterside businesses to enhance the experience of visitors to our waterways. One such example of a successful leisure development area is West India Quay.

West India Quay

West India Quay is home to London's sole surviving Georgian dock warehouses. These elegant buildings were built in 1825 to house valuable cargoes of coffee, rum, molasses and sugar for the West India Dock Company when the Docklands was the busiest port in the world.

The Grade 1 listed warehouses are now home to a lively centre of entertainment including waterside cafés, restaurants and bars, a 12-screen cinema and a fitness centre which blend in with the urban landscape of Canary Wharf.

British Waterways London is proud to have played a significant part in the regeneration of the Docklands adapting a once industrial waterways into attractive and accessible leisure facilities used by millions of visitors every year.

Once a year we host a family event to showcase West India Quay as a landmark destination. In 2004, we teamed up with, X-Leisure, the Docklands Light Railway and the River Cultures Festival to host the FunQuay Beach Weekend.

The Museum in Docklands is a welcome addition to Docklands occupying over five floors of one of the warehouse's on West India Quay. The Museum explores the history of London's Docklands from Roman times to the present day and highlights the importance of the docks and the Port of London to the city's growth in power and prosperity. Visitors enjoy many interactive exhibitions, a chance to handle exhibits, characters coming to life and storytelling.

West India Quay also features a floating art gallery, Prenelle, on board a Dutch Barge and the world's oldest complete steamship, SS Robin, which provides a centre for photojournalism.

(The 'floating' footbridge across West India Dock symbolises the link between past and present, allowing visitors to stroll from the vitality of Canary Wharf to a calmer corner of the docks.)