River Thames London Walking Tour

1 Review | London, England

3 hours (Approx.)

Hotel pickup offered

Mobile Ticket

Overview

This tour takes us along the banks of the River Thames between two of the most famous buildings in the world, the Houses of Parliament & the Tower of London.

We will travel on both sides of this famous old river which locals lovingly refer to as 'Old Father Thames' at various points along the tour. The fine buildings of London are meant to be seen from the river side & we will learn how things have changed over the centuries and millennia & learn how the river has shaped and influenced London right up to the present day.

We will learn the stories of some people that lived along the banks and some of the terrible disasters that have befallen the city.It's not all bad news though as we will past some iconic bridges, amazing photo opportunities & some of the most funky parts of town that until now travellers rarely got the chance to explore.

We will see many of the most famous sights in London but also hidden places right by the river which are little changed from centuries ago.

Description

Stop At: Houses of Parliament, Parliament Square, London SW1A0AA

We start at the Mother of Democracy and the famous Big Ben and learn about how over a thousand years ago this was all an island in the Thames

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Metropolitan Police, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JL, UK

See the famous revolving sign of New Scotland Yard at the home of the oldest Police force in the world.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: London Eye, Westminster Bridge Road, Riverside Building, County Hall, London SE17PB

One of the newest icons of London but also one of the most controversial when it was built.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: York Watergate, Watergate Walk, Charing Cross, London WC2N6DU

See the old ceremonial entrance way to London where all the big names from history would alight from their boats on the Thames and find out why now you can't even see the river from here!

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Victoria Embankment Gardens, 58 Victoria Embankment, Temple Place, London EC4Y0DS

Beautiful Victorian Gardens along the river that were built to help alleviate a very smelly problem.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Middle Temple Hall, Middle Temple Ln., London

Previously right up against the river and now a few hundred yards from it, we can see some of the beautiful gardens and paths in this old legal quarter of London that featured heavily in the writings of Charles Dickens and frequently used in TV and movies such as Downton Abbey.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Queenhithe, Queenhithe, London, UK

See the mosaic that covers over 2,000 years of London history at the only surviving Anglo-Saxon docks in the world and learn of how King Alfred The Great re-established modern London here after expelling those pesky Vikings.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: St. Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M8AD

See St Pauls from the now iconic view from the Millennium Bridge.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Millennium Bridge, Thames Embankment, London SE19JE

Offering some of the best photo opportunities in the whole of Central London.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Tate Modern, 53 Bankside, London SE19TG

We won't go inside but can you guess what it used to be?

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Shakespeare's Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT, UK

See the incredible Globe Theatre and find out why it is here in what was once the most salubrious part of London!

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: The Clink Prison Museum, 1 Clink St, London SE1 9DG, UK

Find out the lurid details of what would happen to the unfortunate who were sent here at His Majesty's Pleasure.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Golden Hinde, St. Mary Overies Dock Cathedral Street, Cathedral St., London SE19DE

See the wondrous replica of the famous ship of exploration used by Sir Francis Drake.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Southwark Cathedral, 1 London Bridge, Montague Close, London SE19DA

One of the lesser known cathedrals in London.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street, London SE11TL

The food market famous around the world which one way or the other has been here since Roman times.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: London Bridge, London SE19DD

The first and most historic bridge in London and yet oddly, not the most famous we will see.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Hay's Galleria, 1 Battle Bridge Lane, London SE12HP

Now a high-end shopping and restaurant area but once the most advanced shipyards in the world.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: HMS Belfast, The Queen's Walk, London SE12JH

See the famous old Royal Navy ship which is now a museum vessel and permanently moored on the Thames.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E161ZE

The home of the London Mayor and local government and surrounded by some of the new development which London is now also famous for. The best views of Tower Bridge can be found right here!

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Tower Bridge, Tower Bridge Road, London SE12UP

Maybe the most famous bridge in the world which when it was built was also by far the most advanced too. People have flown under it, died from jumping off it but we'll just walk across with the opportunity for some great photos and to look through the centre gap and see the river below.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Tower of London, London EC3N4AB

We will finish outside the Tower of London whose moat once connected to the river and see Traitors Gate where those condemned souls would arrive by boat awaiting their dreadful fate.

Duration: 10 minutes