Looks like The Tide is coming in…
Amongst the endless skyscrapers rising to the clouds, it’s easy to forget that London is a whopping 47% green space. That percentage grew a little more this summer, as The Tide opened in July. A beautifully-designed linear park, it’s now furnishing the Greenwich Peninsula with a prime spot for riverside sunset viewing.
First things first (mostly because I had to Google it myself), a linear park is defined as being substantially longer than it is wide. This explains why you often find them on former railway lines (see also New York‘s High Line and Sydney‘s Goods Line) or alongside rivers and canals. The Tide, as you might infer from the name, is a prime example of the second, and when completed, it’ll be twice as long as the aforesaid High Line.
Indeed, developers have pulled in a fair amount of talent to make it happen, although the park hasn’t opened all at once. The first kilometre of the five kilometre-long park is designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro (who are also in charge of London’s mooted concert hall) and Neiheiser Argyros, and features artwork from Damien Hirst, Allen Jones, and Morag Myerscough.
Native trees, grasses, and wldflowers line a series of elevated walkways, which take you as high as nine metres above ground level for sweeping river views. The bridges of The Tide lead to planted ‘stepping-stones’ up in the air, and wooden sun loungers along the riverbanks make for the ultimate in sunny day lazing.
There are also plans to bring “laid-back eateries” to The Tide, though word on them hasn’t been especially forthcoming. There’s also no word on when the rest of the park will open, but as it all sounds absolutely spiffing, we’re definitely getting swept up in The Tide…
Find out more from their website.
Featured image: @charlesemerson_