The Thames, More a ride than a walk!

The River Thames is why the settlement we now know as London was built here, it is intertwined in the in the rich story of London. In early times closeness to a river or water source was vital, and the many rivers which are now hidden from view buried below the city hold he clue to the location, the rivers Fleet all the old historic buildings are close to the river, the Tower of London, the City, the Palace of Westminster all built on the riverbank. As is further down Hampton Court, Henry VIII's palace southwest of London, Windsor, and Woolwich, Greenwich, Deptford, to the east, the Thames twists and turns in it’s path, past offices and pubs, parks and houses, and beneath a dozen’s of bridges. Many have been renovated over the last decade or so, their designs highlighted with new coats of paint. When you are tired and weary of walking, hop on to what Londoners still call a 'pleasure boat', sit back, and enjoy the unfolding of the London scene.

If you join at Westminster

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Westminster to Waterloo

Opposite Westminster Pier is County Hall, made redundant by Mrs Thatcher's Tory government in 1986 when it abolished the GLC (Greater London Council) in a fit of pique, and now occupied by a hotel and the London Aquarium. To the right is the spectacular British Airways London Eye which has changed the London skyline here. Next door is the South Bank Centre, a cultural centre with theatre and arts centre.

Next to the huge eye and lining the bank are the Jubilee Gardens, created to mark Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. opposite lies another smaller garden and behind what was for many years, till 1967, the metropolitan police’s HQ, New Scotland Yard, the unusual name comes from the fact that site of the original headquarters was once the part of Whitehall Palace that was reserved as lodgings for Kings of Scotland. Originally there was Great Scotland Yard, Middle Scotland Yard and Little Scotland Yard, but by the middle of the 19th century new housing meant that only Great Scotland Yard remained. 

It was Great Scotland Yard that was first chosen as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in 1829. As Middle and Little Scotland Yards no longer existed, the 'Great' was soon dropped and the police headquarters became known as just Scotland Yard.

Then in 1884 a bomb damaged the headquarters and a new building had to be found. A site on Victoria Embankment was chosen and a new building was built. This was appropriately named the New Scotland Yard. where the detectives of yesteryear were housed, immortalised in many films and books, and next door is the only part of the palace to survive to today the impressive Banqueting House. You can’t see properly from the river, Built in 1622 by Inigo Jones. But Banqueting House is more famous for the fact that it was here that in January 1649, after the defeat of the monarchy in the Civil War, King Charles I was executed. You can see inside the house, admire the paintings of past monarchs, and even watch a video about the history of the house. History says that in 1529 Henry VIII (1509-47) chose Whitehall Palace as his main residence. It then remained the main royal residence until the monarchy was defeated during the Civil War. Then, during the commonwealth Oliver Cromwell lived here as Lord Protector. And once the monarchy in Charles 2nd was restored the palace again became the main royal residence.

It was James II (1685-88), whose illness was aggravated by the pollution of the nearby River Thames, (must have been grim, even as a boy in the 1960’s working in the docks, if you fell in, you had to have several injections to ward off all the toxins still there) who moved out of the palace, choosing to live in Kensington Palace instead, then in 1698 Whitehall Palace burnt down 

In front lie the moored vessels, the Hispaniola and Tattershall Castle, a restaurant and pub. After the Hungerford Bridge, the Victoria Embankment Gardens, on the left, front the famous Savoy Hotel; at the riverside stands the ancient Egyptian obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle. 

Waterloo to Blackfriars
The 1950’s concrete Royal National Theatre, on the right, contrasts with the 18th-century elegance of Somerset House on the opposite bank. The latter now houses the Impressionist paintings of the Courtauld Institute Galleries. Behind the moored ships Wellington and President which were naval traing ships for the reserve (now offices) are the gardens of the Inns of Temple, Rising above everything is the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

Blackfriars to London Bridge
The massive supports of Blackfriars Bridge, shaped like pulpits, recall the monks who once lived on the left bank. On the right, the huge and once empty and disused Bankside Power Station has been converted into the Tate Modern art gallery, linked by the Millennium Bridge to the City of London, it pretty much takes you into St Pauls. A narrow house next door is said to be used by Christopher Wren during the connstruction of St Paul's. almost next door is Shakespeare's Globe Theatre a reconstruction of the original Globe, which stood on this site many hundreds of years ago, overlooking the river, and opened in 1997.
Almost hidden is a reproduction galleon nestling amongst the buildings and  is Southwark Bridge  soon after on the same south side is Southwark Cathedral and the bridge up next is a railway bridge, going in to Cannon St station after is London Bridge. Its medieval predecessor was a city road on the river, complete with taverns houses and shops, and the 1800’s replacement was moved stone-by-stone to a theme park in Arizona USA.

London Bridge to Tower Bridge
Almost hidden On the north bank left are two Wren-designed structures: the Monument to the Great Fire of London and, below, St Magnus the Martyr, traditionally the church of fishmongers. The former nearby market, Billingsgate, retains its gilded dolphin weathervane, although the fish merchants moved out in the1980’s on the south bank is the large HMS Belfast, opposite the Tower of London on the left, and Tower Bridge dead ahead.

Tower Bridge to the Thames Barrier
St Katharine Dock on the left and the Design Museum on the right mark the start of Docklands. The old docks have been cleaned up, warehouses restored, those that survived the bombing of world war 2, fell to developers, and house some impressive accommodation, and pubs rediscovered. Steep steps on both sides recall the days when the Thames was London's highway, hidden on the north bank is the river polices museum.

On the left, the Prospect of Whitby, long known to locals and now tourists who want the flavour of the past, and almost opposite on the right, the spot from where the Mayflower sailed to take the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World that is before stopping off at Plymouth, Devon. The Thames now loops around the Isle of Dogs, once one of London's poorest areas, and now dominated by Canary Wharf. 

Further round the bottom of the loop lies Greenwich with Gipsy Moth IV, the Cutty Sark, and numerous museums, including Wren's Royal Naval College symbolises the city's age-old nautical connection. Behind the lies National Maritime Museum, and on the hill is the Greenwich Observatory, the best time to be here is noon watch the ball on the observatory drop as it has done for hundreds of years announcing the time to generations of naval masters. The river snakes on downstream towards the Thames Barrier, once through crossing the river is the Woolwich free ferry plying its way from North Woolwich (which was just an industrial and ship repair area) to the town side of Woolwich.

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