Russia Dock Woodland

Russia Dock Woodland is a long narrow park in Rotherhithe, London, created by the infilling of one of the former Surrey Commercial Docks. The woodland divides the Rotherhithe peninsula, running from Bacon's College in the North to the Dalton Cross area in the South. The former Russia Dock was originally used for the importing of softwood timber from Norway, Russia and Sweden. Known as "deal wood", it was mostly used for newsprint and for manufacturing furniture. Following the closure of the docks in the early 1970s, the area was redeveloped by the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC). Russia Dock Woodland was made up of a number of docks, including Russia Dock, Island Dock and Surrey Basin, which were infilled (save for a thin 'stream' through the woodland) and planted as a 34.5-acre (140,000 m2) woodland in 1980. The Woodland still contains surviving dock features including the retaining wall capstones, depth gauges, bollards, mooring chains and tracks.