Boats, London

We decided that a boat ride would be a fun way to get back to London from Greenwich, so we took the Thames Clipper. The clipper is a high speed catamaran that is used for commuting on the Thames River. From Greenwich to London, the trip took about 30 minutes and there were about eight stops along the way.

The seating is comfortable and there is plenty of room to move around. You can even sit outside in the back of the boat on a nice day to enjoy the view. Snacks and beverages are available onboard.

The cost was a reasonable GBP 5.50, 1/3 off with our travelcard.

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Because on the WE in August there was no service on the Circle and District lines, resulting in very crowded nr 15 bus reaching the Tower of London, I choose to do the trip on the river Thames.

My choice of City Cruises was based on the fact that there was a direct boat every half hour from 09.15h on and last return (summer) at 21 h. The boats are big enough (200 passengers or more) with large upper deck with seats for sight seeing (plus toilets and bar).
A return ticket Westminster pier - Tower pier is 11 £; for < 16 and more than 60 yr old the return fare is 5.50 £. (not much more than bus or tube). The tickets desk is at the pier entrance.

I found it very pleasant. A member of the staff was commenting the monuments, bridges and the mostly contemporary architecture buildings along the river sides. He did it with sense of humor.

This trip confirmed what I wrote here in 2009 under "favorites - architectural":
There is big contrast - an architectural shock - between modern buildings and older ones crammed on each other. Some of this contemporary architecture is interesting but the global feeling is that of great heterogeneity.

Compare a cruise on the Thames and one on the Seine in Paris and you will understand what I mean.
On the other hand I must say that the contrast can be amusing. When the boat turns at the Tower pier you will seen on the left the medieval Tower of London, in front the Tower Bridge from the end of the 19th c. and on the right the City Hall from 2002 also called the onion or motorcycle helmet.

There are several boat services on the Thames. For details look on the "Transport for London" website www.tfl.gov.uk getting around - river
There is a detailed list of River Bus services and River Tours services.

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A trip from Westminster to Greenwich is a pleasant way to pass time and see London. Most of the boats have a guide who points out the monuments and places of interest. Some are hilarious in the way they present their information, and may ask for a voluntary collection at the end of the tour.
Thames River Services is one company that allows passengers to get off and resume later. We had decided to do the round trip to Greenwich. We boarded at Festival Hall, and changed boats at St. Katherine's Pier and then continued to Greenwich, returning finally to Westminster Pier. Toilets and a bar are available on board. A cup of tea was £1.75
The trip is not cheap. We paid £7.25 as we were senior citizens, which is about half the full fare. The trip should last 3 hours if non-stop.
Boats leave every hour , starting at 10.00 am at Westminster and the last boat leaves Greenwich at 6.00pm

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A great way to travel in London and use fast clipper type catamarans along the Thames. The service is for commuters and tourists alike and the service runs from Woolwich to Millbank in central London. There are piers at Woolwich, QE2, Greenwich, Masthouse, Greenland, Canary Wharf, Tower of London, London Bridge, Bankside, Blackfriars, Embankment, Waterloo and Millbank.
Clippers leave the piers at least every 20 minutes and refreshments are available on board - a great way to travel along the Thames.

a nice way to get from the top of Edgeware Road/Maidavale, or from the zoo at Regents Park also, to the Camden markets is by canal boat that runs along the canal from Little Venice stopping at the zoo as the canal boat company has its own moor and entrance gate into the zoo, and along to the Camden lock where you can walk around the corner to the Camden markets. - or vice versa going in the opposite direction.

Following an important industrial transport route first opened in 1820 this is a lovely way to see a unique and interesting view of London.

The 4 canal boats that the London Waterbus Company uses along this route are converted traditional working narrow boats, and three of them are on the National Register of Historic Ships.

The Summer timetable runs from April to September with trips every day - the first days of April the boats run 1-2 hourly from 11am to 4pm - from the 6th of April boats run hourly from 10am to 5pm.

In October the boats run Thursdays to Sundays

The Winter timetable runs from November to March with weekends trips only.

See the website for the exact timetable and current prices.

Little Venice to the London Zoo takes approximately 35 minutes and to the Camden Lock approximately 50 minutes.

Tickets are sold on board - most debit and credit cards are accepted in addition to cash of course!
Groups of 20 can be booked with discounts for over 20 - need to be be booked at least 10 days in advance

Their brochures advise certain restrictions:

- pets, guide dogs, bicycles or other wheeled items cannot be taken on board - wheelchairs can only be taken if they can be folded (and there are steps to negotiate to get down into the boats)
- only lightweight, small and folded flat pushchairs or child buggies can be taken - and will be stored on the roof during the trip

Using the Thames for getting around is often overlooked by visitors and Londoners alike.

The services that are now running, usually offer 33% discount to those with travelcard.

Of Most use to tourists is probably the 'Tate to Tate' sevice, that also stops at Waterloo. At 12 pounds for a 'river roamer (8 pounds witha travelcard), it allows 3 return journeys in a day - allowing plenty of time to get your waterbourne photographs.

There are also a couple of useful services to Greenwich, for example from Westminster pier.

The service from Savoy (off the Strand) for the short hop to St Katherines dock and onto Canary Wharf means you can sail under Tower Bridge for as little as Two pounds 70p

For full details of times, prices and operators check out the website below :

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The Thames Clippers company offers a transportation from Central London by boat to the North Greenwich Pier at The O2 Dome. From The London Bridge Pier the journey is 30 minutes; from the Waterloo Pier the journey takes 29 minutes.

Ticket price: A single journey on The O2 express is £6.

London maybe one of the world's most expensive cities, but this is a great freebie if you want to see the sun set over london.

The Woolwich to North Woolwich ferry has been operating in some form or other since the 14th century, but as a free service it has only be going for about 120 years ! The three boats all date from the 1960's, although only 2 operate at any one time. This provides a 10 minute serive from 6 am until about 8 pm. Cars and lorries may have to queue at peak times, but foot passengers never have to.

Not really worth going visiting in it's own right, but if you are heading for woolwich barracks of just like ferries...then you are in luck. Photographers may also appreciate the setting sun over the towerblocks of docklands with the city of London in the far background.

Cost to the tax payer ? about 7 million quid a year - making your journey a nicely subsidised 6 pounds or so.

Little boys of any age will of course just enjoy see this great bit of kit at work.