Two weekends ago took place the Open Garden Squares Weekend 2018, during which over 200 green spaces all around London opened their doors to the public (some of which are not normally publicly accessible). We were delighted to find out that quite a few gardens participating to the initiative allowed dogs (on a lead)! Today we tell you about visiting dog-friendly Crossrail Place Roof Garden in Canary Wharf within the initiative!

Dog-friendly Open Garden Squares 2018

In the Open Garden Squares 2018 Guidebook, one could easily spot the participating green spaces allowing dogs, which were marked with a violet dog icon under their description. In addition, any further conditions for dogs access were clearly stated in the description of the garden.

We made a list of the ones we would have loved to visit, but due to time constraints and our other visit to Hampton Court Palace, we had to pick a couple only. There were also may not dog-friendly green spaces that would have been lovely to discover… hopefully we will be able to plan a richer tour next year!

A visit to dog-friendly Crossrail Place Rooftop Garden during OGSW

As a lover of dog-friendly rooftops, I was very pleased when I found that Crossrail Place Rooftop Garden was marked as dog-friendly in the Open Garden Squares guidebook (see here, here and the screenshot below).

If you think about it, you can visit some very beautiful conservatories in London, like the ones at the Barbican Centre, Syon Park or in Kew Gardens, but they are strictly human-only destinations. The logic behind dog restrictions in conservatories is in part understandable: they are indoor ecosystems and often hoste delicate plants, so gardeners can be concerned about “dog incidents” that could seriously damage their fragile ecosystem. This means, unfortunately, that owners of well-trained dogs – that would never even think about fouling in conservatories – are left out of the fun.

In Canary Wharf there is the Crossrail Place Rooftop Garden. It is located north of Greenwich – on the Prime Meridian – and was designed to reflect the division between the eastern and the western hemispheres: the plants and trees planted in the West and in the East parts of the Rooftop Garden belong to the respective hemispheres. So, for instance, you will find bamboos, Northern Japanese Magnolia and Japanese Maple tree in the eastern part, while the western part hosts ferns, sweet gum and many others.

We visited it with Argo during the Open Garden Squares Weekend and were left favourably impressed. We took the escalator (with Argo being carried) to get on the Rooftop Garden at One Canada Square, while we got a lift to get down. The Rooftop Garden has many open openings on the top, so sunrays seeped in. We had a pleasant walk through the Garden, both exploring the narrow lateral paths and the main central one. There are a few benches, which could be the ideal place for taking some relax time or read a book. In addition, the Rooftop Garden has two areas where performances can be hosted and even a piano for public use!

Does Crossrail Palace Rooftop Garden allow dogs on any normal day?

Crossrail Place Rooftop Garden is open to the general public daily, so you don’t really need to wait for the next Open Garden Squares Weekend to visit it. As far as dogs are concerned, though, I had previously tried to confirm the applicable canine policy, but received conflicting information from the staff.

As of today, I cannot say with certainty what is the policy and if one would or wouldn’t be turned away if they tried to visit it with their dog. Part of the staff had told me that the Rooftop Garden can be considered part of the mall and, hence, according to the rule about dogs in the mall, access to dogs is forbidden unless they are guide dogs and hearing dogs. On the contrary, at the time of our visit during the Open Garden Squares Weekend, some stewards said that dogs would to be allowed on the Rooftop Garden on any normal day – which would also make sense in light of the fact that it was included among the dog-friendly gardens in the Open Garden Squares Weekend Guidebook -.

I am currently trying to confirm the correct rule once for all and solve this mistery. I will keep you posted and update this blog post as soon as I receive any clarifications! In the meantime, if you go on an adventure there, we would be curious to know about your experience and any further staff position.

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