Canada Water

Canada Water is a freshwater lake and nature reserve in Rotherhithe, London, in the Docklands area. Canada Water station is named after the lake and is located immediately to the north, while the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre is adjacent to Canada Water to the south.

The lake was named after the former Canada Dock, a historic dock, the northern third of which now forms the lake. The rest was filled in. Canada Dock got its name because it was primarily used for ships from Canada. Like many Docklands facilities, the Surrey Commercial Docks, of which Canada Dock was a part, closed in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) took over the site and invested heavily in its development. About half of Canada Dock was filled in, and the Surrey Quais Shopping Centre was built on it. An ornamental canal, the Albion Channel (through the now filled Albion Dock), was created, connecting Canada Water and Surrey Water. The excavated material was used to create Stave Hill in the nearby Russia Dock Woodland.

The area around the Thames gentrified rapidly, and when the Jubilee Line was extended in 1999,^[1] the focus shifted to the lakeside area. The opening of Canada Water tube station provided good public transport links; Canary Wharf is just one stop away, Westminster less than 10 minutes, and Bond Street about 15 minutes.