A look at: the Greenwich Foot Tunnel

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to walk beneath one of the world’s most famous rivers? The Greenwich Foot Tunnel offers families an opportunity to journey under the Thames, connecting Greenwich’s historic waterfront with the modern towers of Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs. In this post, we take a look at the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, so you can decide whether it should be added to your list of places to visit in London with your family.

The history of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel

Built between 1899 and 1902, this pedestrian tunnel was constructed to provide dock workers living south of the river with safe passage to the thriving shipyards and docks on the Isle of Dogs, eliminating their dangerous reliance on small ferry boats in all weather conditions. 

During World War II, it suffered from bomb damage on the first night of the Blitz on 7 and 8 September 1940. The damage resulted in the tunnel being closed immediately for repairs to stop leaks and potential flooding. Had the tunnel been more severely damaged, the resulting closure would have had a major long-term impact on travel across the river.

Preliminary repairs to stem the inflow of water were successful. By early 1941 the repairs had been completed and the tunnel fully reopened to the public. The repairs made to the tunnel, in the form of a segment lined in exposed metal, can still be seen today.

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel today

Today the Greenwich Foot Tunnel continue to provide a way for Londoners to cross the river. It’s also a unique experience in London for tourists – you can say that you have walked under the River Thames!

A trip through the Greenwich foot tunnel from Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs is an excellent way to get a view back across the river and/or a good way to start a trip back on the DLR into Canary Wharf, Central London or further afield. Alternatively, if arriving at Greenwich via the DLR from the North, you could get off at Island Gardens and walk through the tunnel to get to Greenwich.

The Island Gardens entrance is located within Island Gardens park, just a few minutes from the DLR station.

The Greenwich entrance sits in a rotunda close to the Cutty Sark, making it easy to locate.

Both entrance buildings house lifts and spiral staircases. The lifts are perfect for families with pushchairs or those with mobility issues. However, the lifts at both ends of the tunnel are notoriously unreliable and frequently break down, so always prepare for the possibility of using the stairs instead and the possible need to carry a pushchair down and/or up the stairs at one or both ends. There is a website that provides a status update on the lifts, so do check that, but do not rely upon it being accurate.

If you’re feeling energetic, or if the lifts aren’t working, the spiral staircase winds down 100 steps on the Greenwich end and 87 steps on the Island Gardens end, but they are regularly broken up with small landings (after eight or so steps).

Once you enter the tunnel, you will find yourself in a tiled corridor that curves gently downwards as it follows the riverbed above. The tunnel is approximately 2.4 metres wide and 3 metres high. You’ll walk on a slightly sloped path that dips down toward the centre before rising again. This gentle gradient helps you feel the river’s depth without making the walk strenuous for little legs.

The tunnel maintains a constant cool temperature year-round, so a walk through the tunnel is the ideal way to cool down in Greenwich during a London heatwave.

The tunnel is open 24 hours a day and there is usually a decent flow of people through the tunnel during daytime hours. There is CCTV in the tunnel and the tunnel is sometimes patrolled by police, so it’s generally safe to visit. Do note though that although there are signs to prohibit cycling, people on bikes often do not dismount and walk their bike through and with the tunnel being sloped, they can get up some speed, so keep an eye on small children and stick to the left hand side of the tunnel.

In total, it should take around 10-15 minutes to get from one side of the river to the other.

From both sides of the river you can spot the rotunda on the other side to see where you came from or are going to.

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel offers families a unique experience in London. If you wanted to say that you had both been under, on and over the Thames, you could also try and do a river cruise and take a trip on the cable cars during your trip.

Have you been through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel? Tell us about your visit in the comments!