London's very own version of the Highline to open in July

A highlight of pretty much any holiday to New York is a lazy amble down the Highline, the converted set of train tracks which lead visitors and residents alike on a short stroll down the west side of Manhattan.

Londoners — and the millions of tourists who flock to the capital to sample the delights of fish and chips at Garfunkel’s on Tottenham Court Road — are set to get their own version later this year, and the first images of the project have surfaced online.

Brought to life by interdisciplinary design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro — the firm responsible for the NYC incarnation — in collaboration with London architecture studio Neiheiser Argyros, the first phase of the elevated walkway is going to wrap itself across Greenwich Peninsula.

Industry paper Architects Journal reports that 1 July is the official opening date for this first kilometre-long stretch. The project’s official name, incidentally, is The Tide.

They go on to note that “this will consist of a walkway 9m above the ground, winding through trees and past giant sculptures by Damien Hirst and Allen Jones”, and that there will also be “sunken gardens, a jetty garden surrounded by the river and a 27m-long picnic table on the Thames designed by Studio Morison”.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro themselves say: “The Tide is conceived of as a series of elevated, landscaped islands where the public is invited to slow down, linger, and overlook the life of the Peninsula”, and promise that each of those islands is distinct, “defined by unique trees and planting, and by their surrounding views and sounds”.

You’ll be able to find out for yourself just how distinct they really are when the project opens to the public in July.