Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer is visiting London

The Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer, will be making a visit to London next month, and will be offering regular trips along the Thames during her visit.

Waverley was built in 1945, originally for the route up Loch Goil and Loch Long from Craigendoran & Arrochar in West Scotland. She now visits several areas of the UK offering regular trips during the summer months. Just before the pandemic, the ship was taken out of service for a major overhaul of the boilers, which was delayed by the pandemic.

Due to the refurbishment work and pandemic, this summer’s visit to London will be Waverley’s first since 2018.

The paddle steamer will pay visits to London between 23rd September to 9th October with London departure points below — although there are also departures from other locations further out for trips into London as well on their website.

You can book tickets from here

Tip – use the filter at the top to select London Tower Pier from the destinations to get London trips, and also do NOT click on the “book” link on the list of trips, as that just takes you to a password-protected page (weird!). Instead, click on the route name, and that opens a section with the prices and the correct booking form.

There’s also a nighttime cruise departing Gravesend on Friday 30th September dropping people off next to Tower Bridge.

The low level of the Waverley means that she can pass under Tower Bridge at low tide without the bridge opening, so they stuck a tall pole on the front that makes her tall enough to command a bridge opening!