FREE! Insightful and interesting Museum of London Docklands

Aug 8, 2017
2 min read

Another one of London's underrated museums, in my opinion. This wonderful museum tucked away in a 200-year-old warehouse to the outer edges of Canary Wharf is a literal hidden gem. Spread over three floors, the exhibits and galleries tell the history of London's docks in fascinating detail from as early as the pre-Roman age to the present day encompassing the Slave Trade, World War 2 and the new Cross Rail project. There are a number of artefacts and interactive displays which children can get their hands on or use other senses to explore as well as a great amount of text display boards documenting the story of the area. One of the highlights for the kids was Sailortown - a gloomy recreation of the dark and grim dockside streets and alleys circa 1840-50. They also found the WW2 shelters interesting - fun at first and thought-provoking once they read the information associated with them. We all found the London, Sugar & Slavery gallery particularly powerful. The way in which London and its docks contributed to this horrendous period in our history whilst hard to take in was informative and well told. The Crossrail gallery contains a number of interesting artefacts that have been found through excavation of the railway including skeletons from the Black Death and a Mammoth's jawbone. If the galleries get a little too much for your little ones, they can be entertained in the Mudlarks Gallery on the ground floor which is advertised as an interactive learning space and includes building blocks, dress-up, a water play area (with aprons provided) and soft play area (for those under 1m). Please note that you will have to book timed entry tickets for the Mudlarks Gallery which will allow access for 30 minutes or so. Tickets area free and can be picked up at the reception on arrival but I would recommend booking ahead online through their website in order to book a slot convenient to the time you visit. Also worth noting that during the holidays, there are usually free drop-in workshops available for kids to take part in as well story sessions and family based activities so check their website before you go to see what's coming up. Also worth noting is that we spent around 3 hours here and yet we could have spent a lot longer. If you're planning on staying for the whole day, there is a reasonably priced cafe to adequately provide for those that have worked up a thirst or hunger, but as it's a free museum, you could just as easily pack a picnic and enjoy eating outside along the river then pop back in to the museum to continue your visit...a well worth visit if you ask me!