Chelsea Harbour Living

The Marina is the centre of the development. It is home to a large number of private boats and yachts - presumably belonging to flat or house owners in Chelsea Harbour. The Marina is brick walled with coping stones right around the edge in which are set substantial stanchions with chains hanging in between. These are all painted the same shade of dark blue as the railings along the Thames, and the windows and balconies of the Belvedere. At water level, wooden walkways runs all the way around the Marina to allow access to the boats which are moored to them. There are wooden jetties at regular intervals. Plants line the Marina on the Kings Quay side and there are also white park benches where people can sit and look at the boats and the water.

Round the Marina there are is a cobbled roadway. The cobbles are concrete with granite or other stone mixed in. They are different sizes, some square and some rectangular, which gives a very natural and ‘old’ effect. On a nice sunny day with the boats rocking in the water and sun shining off the white buildings, you really do feel you might be in a Mediterranean fishing village, not the centre of London. There are distinctive light fittings - glass globes in clusters which hang from large metal poles - right along the Marina frontage below the Conrad hotel and Harbour Yard.

Many of the buildings which circle the marina have flower beds in front with curved glazed bricks providing a border. There is a special type of terracotta tub which appears all around the estate. Each side is about 3½ ft length and 3ft in height with a large round ‘Chelsea Harbour’ insignia on each side. They contain privet or olive bushes with low-growing plants and shrubs at the base.

The Marina is reached from the Thames via a lock. The lock is interesting in itself. There is a pedestrian bridge over it, connecting either side of the Thames towpath. When a boat comes through, the bridge is lifted by a weighting mechanism. There are two sets of lock gates, presumably to protect the level of the Marina from tidal water in the Thames.

The lock links the Marina to the Thames tow path which runs along the edge of the Thames between the river and the development. Mainly the tow path is several feet lower than the ground level of the estate, but there are several gates with steps giving access up and down.

The Thames tow path runs along the whole of the front of the development between the buildings and the river. It is quite a grand promenade at this point, with a wide pavement. The paving stones are small and have a warm colour as opposed to the usual London grey. On the river side, is a curved stone wall, further protected by large iron railings painted blue, with attractive lampposts all along the edge. They look like original gas lamps which have been converted, but they may be more modern adaptations.

A huge anchor sits on the river side near the Belvedere. It’s carefully placed in a display area made of bricks laid in a circle. It must be an original: the link moves on its pin as you would expect.

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