Now that I've pretty much mopped up the centre of the map, explorations take me further afield to places I've never visited before.  And the likelihood is I'll probably never visit them again.  After all Dagenham East or Bermondsey are hardly top of my leisure time destinations. Plus of course, I don't have much time in London these days...

Therefore it's worth doing some cursory research before setting off just in-case there's a little gem out there waiting to be discovered.  It was in this spirit that I was noodling around on the net recently looking at what's about along the DLR line.  I then remembered the Thames Barrier, which I have never made the time to visit, despite it looking like a space pod had beached itself downstream of Wapping.

( the how... )</div>

We arrive at Pontoon Dock, and are confronted with this:

 
It's absolutely bloody vast!  Big, brooding, monolithic...and of course has been bought up by developers to turn into flats.  I very much doubt that 'affordable housing' will be high on the agenda.  It no longer has a rectangular footprint - large chunks have been pulled down.  We head downstairs to see if there's a way to get in closer.  Of course, there's a great big fence:


But on walking down the road, we notice a path through the undergrowth and a hole in the fence...but I'll leave the further explanation to the below...


( ...the where... )
The DLR is a ribbon of concrete running alongside the road - there's very little here but the park and empty industrial space. Staring along the tracks it doesn't even feel like Britain, it's all blandly European Modern.

Back at the Thames Barrier Park we watch more planes go over as we have tea at the cafe.  I wish I was braver.  Maybe I'm not a natural anarchist.  Pondering these things I wander past the carefully crafted garden of undulating hedges, and down to the river.  A sign tells us the far exit and fountain have been removed indefinitely due to vandalism. It's seems there was redevelopment money, but none for maintainance.


We can't get to the Barrier itself, so we wander back towards the tube...



Heading back to pick up the Jubilee Line at Canning Town we go pass what looks like another of those Thames Barrier Pods.  This is the one that missed the river, and is rusting and unshiny...what's is being used for...is it just the oddest shed in the world?