Thoughts on Transport to the Den
As I can’t drive, I rely heavily on three things, trains, buses and good old-fashioned walking.
On Tuesday night, I went to Canary Wharf for supper and for many places it is a good place to start an evening trip in London. The parking may be a bit expensive, but you can always get a couple of hours free, if you spend over £10 in one of the shops there. I used to buy something I needed like wine in Waitrose to get the token. Incidentally, is there a more up-market supermarket anywhere in the UK, than this one?
The first step to your evening entertainment, after a meal in one of the many restaurants, is to take the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf Station, that makes all other Metro stations in the world, look ordinary. I once took a C into the station on the escalator from the surface and asked her to close her eyes, once she was safely on the moving staircase. I then told her to open her eyes a few metres down. The look on her face summed it all up.
As I was going to the Den on Tuesday, I just took one station on the Jubilee Line to Canada Water. From upstairs, I took a P12 bus, which stopped outside the ground. what could have been simpler?
One of the problems at the Den, is that it is an area with very few pubs, restaurants and cafes. My mate, Ian, chose to drive and he had quite a bit of difficulty parking and then finding anything to eat. I got the better deal by going to Canary Wharf.
There are plans to build a new station at Surrey Canal Road on the new East London Line extension to Clapham Junction.
This will make travelling to the Den easier, but it will probably do nothing for the quality of the hostelries in the area! I’m afraid at my age and with my medical conditions, greasy burgers, fish and chips and pints of gassy lager are not for me!
But it will give you more choices of getting to the ground, as it will then be directly connected to many other areas with lots of easily accessible places to eat and drink. For example, Ipswich fans coming in to Liverpool Street, might use the Spitalfields or Brick Lane areas, before going to the match from Shoreditch High Street.
Obviously Canary Wharf makes a good starting point for anything in the West End of London, but with just one simple interchange at Canada Water or Shadwell, it is also a good place to start for anything in South London, if you live north of the river. Crystal Palace, which used to be one of the more difficult grounds to reach is now a lot easier. It’s just a pity that the interchange at Shadwell from the Docklands Light Railway to the East London Line isn’t better.
Are Water Libraries Boring?
I’m not a great one for libraries, except for reference purposes, but I was struck by this sign near Millwall’s ground on Tuesday night.
The New Canada Water Library
A library with different samples of water, must be very boring, but obviously, it is at the heart of some important sciences like homeopathy and water divining. But why would the Canadians build their new water library in South London?
Into the Lion’s Den
Millwall used to play at the Cold Blow Lane, which like Portsmouth was an Archibald Leitch-designed stadium, but moved to the New Den in 1993. I never went to the old ground and this was my first visit to the new one.
The New Den
I arrived at the ground on a P12 bus from Canada Water after having an early supper at Carluccio’s in Canary Wharf. It was an easy way to get to the ground.
Millwall supporters have in the past not been noted for giving a warm reception to their visitors, but I found eveverybody friendly, even if you can see from the photograph, tha the crowd was a bit sparse.
The game wasn’t the best in terms of football, but the result was right, in that Ipswich won.
It was a struggle afterwards to get back to Liverpool Street for my train home, as I took the train to London Bridge and then used the Underground. But I made my desired train with a few minutes to spare.
The Anonymous Widower 