In the Heart of London Finance, Canary Wharf Becomes a Swim Spot
Once the domain of 19th century trade ships, Canary Wharf’s docks now host ducks, endangered eels — and a surge of urban swimmers.
Canary Wharf swimmers share the water with ducks, eels and the ghosts of the city’s maritime past.
Photographer: Holly-Marie Cato for Bloomberg
On a warm Thursday evening in London’s Canary Wharf, crowds of bankers are smoking and drinking white wine and pints of lager outside the bars lining the waterfront as a flotilla of swimmers in brightly colored caps bobs around the harbor below.
In the shade of skyscrapers, the water appears almost black and can drop to 12C (54F) even in summer. Beneath the surface, swimmers get a sense of vertigo. It’s possible to see the foundations of the nearby buildings, as well as reed beds and sunken concrete many feet below the surface. Mallard ducks, coots and geese nest on floating islands and the water is home to endangered European eels.