Geograph - photograph every grid square

Russia Dock was part of the Surrey Commercial Docks and was originally used for the importing of timber from Norway, Russia and Sweden. The soft wood was mostly used for paper for prints and for furniture. Following the closure of the Surrey Commercial Docks in the 1970s, Russia Dock was in filled in 1980, apart from a thin 'stream', and planted as a woodland in the same year. A series of water channels and ponds provided habitats for kingfishers and herons. It still contains surviving dock features including the retaining wall, capstones, depth gauges, bollards, mooring chains and tracks. This is at the northern end, not far from Stave Hill. As can be gauged from the snow and ice this was a bitterly cold day.