Exhibition about the Thames Cable Car opens at the Building Centre

After a few months of occasional prodding the river bed looking for unexploded German bombs, earlier this week construction formally started on the Cable Car that will stretch across the river by the O2/Millennium Dome/White Elephant (delete as appropriate).

London’s River Park

London is - depending on the whim of the planners and chequebooks - about to get a new park, a long sinuous length of pedestrian walkway floating on the Thames that will contain a few pavilions, a swimming pool and rather a lot of gravel paving.

The Thames at the London Transport Museum

The Transport Museum in Covent Garden may conjure up images of old trams, buses and tube trains, but probably not the River Thames, even though it had been the main transport artery through London for most of the City’s life.…

Photos – Two military hovercraft on the Thames

A dull rumbling sound getting slowly louder is usually a hint that I should get up and look out of the window to see if anything interesting is coming along the river. Usually it’s just a tourist boat being unusually…

A trip with the archaeologists on the River Thames

“The remains are only visible at very low tide, and the rain over the past few days may have raised the river level so we can’t see anything” was the warning given as a group waited by the MI6 building…

Photos – Reflections in the River Thames

Here is a photo of a comparatively rare sight for the River Thames – can you see what is unusual?

Sinister black speedboat action

I often see the police boat going past the flat - occasionally at full speed with lights flashing - but also sometimes I also see a couple of sinister black inflatable boats racing up and down the river.

Men in ropes on the Millennium Bridge

Something to keep an eye out for: On or about 18 October 2010, for a period of about one week, contractors working on behalf of the City of London will carry out a structural inspection of the Millennium Footbridge by…

Cruise Liners Visiting London in 2010

Each summer, a series of luxury liners visit London, and while the city doesn’t have a formal cruise liner port, there are three suitable mooring points where the liners can berth for a few days. As the ones heading into…

River Thames to be Checked for Unexploded Bombs

An advisory notice has been issued by the Port of London authority that they will be carrying out a survey of the river next week – looking for unexploded bombs! I’m sure it is just a routine event and left-over…

The last RAF “Seaplane Tender” visits London

About a week ago, I had a press release from the RAF Museum in North London announcing a small bit of significant history was about to occur – but failed to mention the date. I however, then kept forgetting to…

When there were icebergs in the River Thames

Although most readers will be familiar with the tales of the Frost Fairs, when the River Thames was completely frozen over, changes to the climate and river structures made such an event almost impossible in the 19th century – and…

EXCLUSIVE: How London’s snow really arrives

If you thought snow fell from the sky as a natural phenomena, then let me dissuade you of that old-fashioned thinking. In our modern age where we expect nature to confirm to our requirements and calendar – snow is imported…

The Queen to watch Swan Upping – for the first time

A brief note from the government’s press service a few days ago noted: “Her Majesty The Queen will see the Swan Upping ceremony between Bovney Lock and Oakley Court on the River Thames, on the 20th July 2009. This is…

Oysters on the Thames

The Thames river bus service, The Thames Clipper – which zooms past my flat on a very regular basis – has announced that it is to start accepting Oyster PrePay cards from November. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/11479.aspx Still to be confirmed is whether…

An iceberg on the River Thames

Sitting at home, and what should go past the flat, but an iceberg with a polar bear on top of it. After having a WTF moment and grabbing the photo, I am now wondering where in the “Dummies Guide to…

Hovercraft on the Thames

If you are looking for the hovercraft seen on the Thames on 15th March 2011, click here. Sorry for the appalling photo quality, but I just saw a hovercraft on the Thames heading into central London. Normally when sitting at…

London’s Riverside Amenities – An Exhibition

The ever excellent Building Centre in central London (just off Tottenham Court Road) is hosting an exhibition about plans for waterfront living and transport in the city. Not just the obvious River Thames and Lee Valley, but also several other…

How the Bakerloo Line created a Water Jet in the Thames

I am carrying on my periodic researches into the Whitehall and Waterloo railway – and thanks to an odd letter of reply in a Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineering – published in 1902, commenting on…