Overview

The Museum of London Docklands is part of the Museum of London and specialises in the history of London's rivers and port. It's housed in a former warehouse. It had both permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions. The museum has free entry, although sometimes temporary exhibitions have an admission charge. We went especially to see Roman Dead, which is free and on until 28 October 2018.

Transport & Parking

The Museum is in London's Docklands and the nearest station is West India Quay which is on the Lewisham branch of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). Other nearby DLR stations are West Ferry and Canary Wharf. All of which have lift access from platform to street. There is also a separate Canary Wharf tube station on the Jubilee Line, with lift access. On my way there I exited at West Ferry station and on my way back I went from West India Quay. Having used both stations I would say. West India Quay is the nearest station, with about 2 - 3 minutes walk on a pedestrianised walkway to the museum and by using this route you navigate less cobblestone. With both routes signage to the museum is poor. The museum is housed in a row of warehouses which also houses a number of restaurants and it's not clear where the museum entrance is until you get nearer to it. West Ferry is about a 5 - 6 minute walk to the museum and the route is less straight forward. I did not see signage to the museum. However, there was a map and I worked out a route . When I arrived at Hersmere Road I was facing the rear of the museum. There was a large museum banner but the only entrance was for staff. It wasn't clear if I needed to turn right or left to get to the museum. From this route there are a few more cobblestones to navigate than coming from West India Quay Station.

Access

The only public museum entrance involves walking across a small but unavoidable area of raised cobbled stones. The cobbles are quite large and my crutch got stuck in between them once or twice. Once inside access is easy. The entrance is step free. Immediately inside there is an information desk and a seating area. Directly in front is the self service café with free standing tables and chairs. There are lifts to all floors. Some of the floor boards are uneven. On our visit we went to see the Roman Dead exhibition which was on the ground floor. There were 3 - 4 steps or a ramp to get into the exhibition. At the entrance to the exhibition were some portable stools. Inside the exhibition the display cabinets were well laid out. Where the skeleton remains were on display most of the cabinets could be viewed at both sides which would enable wheelchair users to see the entire remains more easily. There were a couple of videos, which were captioned. However there is no fixed seating in the exhibition. Therefore if you need a seat you will need to get a stool.

Toilets

I only used the ground floor accessible toilet. The door is labelled. However it consists of two rooms. The first has a baby changing table and you have to walk through this to get to the accessible toilet. The layout is not ideal. The accessible toilet itself was clean, with grab rails and emergency cord.

Staff

Excellent. When you arrive you are immediately facing the reception desk and I was welcomed by the staff. I mentioned about the poor signage and suggested that at the rear of the building an arrow pointing to the entrance would be helpful. I was told that would be feedback. We also used the café while we were there and the member of staff there was very helpful and friendly.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The museum is well worth visiting. The Roman Dead exhibition was quite large for a free temporary exhibition and it has a fascinating display of Roman remains many of which are extremely well preserved. Highly recommend it. The café has a good range of sandwiches, home made cakes and hot and cold drinks.

Photos