Alton Towers in London? (Docklands Light Railway)

Member Name: melvinium

Product:	Docklands Light Railway
Date:	03/10/08 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scenic views from A-B in London

Disadvantages: Corners feel a little unsafe

Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
The Docklands area of London has undergone a massive redevelopment in recent times, and the Docklands Light Railway services the region.

- My experience -

I am not from London, and recently my Husband had an audition for Gladiators, which meant a day in the Capital. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to watch the auditions, but wanted to be there for moral support for hubby, so we both went down to London. The audition was in Bethnal Green, and could last for up to 7 hours, which left me with a reasonably large amount of time to kill. Luckily for me, my Mum came down with us, so I wouldn't be wandering around on my own, but we still didn't know what to do. If you are a visitor to London for a short period of time it is difficult to know what to do really as there is so much to choose from.
We had both done the usual touristy things before, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Harrods etc, so wanted to do something a bit different.

I had never been to Canary Wharf, and so fancied going to have a look, I checked out online, and found out there was a new shopping centre at Canary Wharf, so I thought this might kill a few hours. I also was told that the Docklands Light Railway would take me there, and as I had never been on the line before, thought I would check it out.
We got to Bank and went to change onto the DLR, but unfortunately there was some building works which had over-run and the DLR was not running between Bank and Canary Wharf. We got the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf instead and checked out all of the sky scrapers and amazing glass buildings above the tube station.

We then found our way to Heron Keys, which is the next tube station to Canary Wharf, and is on the DLR. This was only about a 5 minute walk from Canary Wharf tube station.
We decided to get the railway from here to Cutty Sark at Greenwich.

We boarded the train, and set off across the Thames, it was a very odd journey, it felt like being on a theme park ride at somewhere like Alton Towers. When we went round a corner (there were a few) it felt almost precarious, and the whole train moved to the side. I'm sure for the usual people who use it, they are used to this, but me and my Mum were a bit apprehensive at first. What makes it different as well is that it is above the ground as opposed to the underground, which is obviously under the ground. This means that you can see where you are going and have some pretty spectacular views of London particularly as you cross the Thames.

We got off at the Cutty Sark, and had a nice time pootling around on the pier and taking in the view of Canary Wharf from the other side of the Thames. The Cutty Sark was covered over with tarpaulins as it is being renovated from the fire in 2007. We had a coffee in an interesting coffee shop on Greenwich high street, and then got the DLR back to Heron Keys. It was a little busier on the way back as schools had finished, so there were a few schoolchildren. We were safely taken back to Heron Keys, and the journey probably took 15 minutes.

- History -

Since getting back I have checked Wikipedia for some facts on the DLR:

It opened in August 1987 and reaches north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, east to Beckton and wet to Bank and the financial district of London, it is currently 31km long.

The trains are computer-controlled and usually have no driver (I'm so glad I didn't know that before we went on, but it probably explains why it felt like a theme park train!). A Passenger Service Agent (PSA) on each train checks for tickets and controls the door. (we didn't see any PSAs and didn't have our tickets checked).

- Future for DLR -

With the development of the Docklands as part of the 'Thames Gateway" and the Olympics in 2012, there are several extensions and enhancements being planned. See Wikipedia for the enhancements which include upgrading stations so they can cater for 3 carriage trains as well as some new stations and another new route across the Thames.

So if you are in London, and are stuck for something to do why not pay a visit to the Docklands area of London and have a go on the DLR! We bought a zone travel card day pass which was £7 and the DLR is covered within this.
Incidentally my hubby didnt get through the auditions, so you wont be seeing him soon on Gladiators - maybe next year :-)

Summary: Good way to get around Docklands