Lot's Ait (Island on the Thames @ Brentford nr. Kew Bridge) accessible?

[Etymologist]

Intrigued by the interesting decripitude and wildlife of Lot's Ait, my friend and I want to see if we can go and have a wander about on it. The wikipedia page says it is only accessible by boat:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot's_Ait

But this google satellite picture seems to suggest otherwise:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...5646,-0.296803&spn=0.004977,0.009613&t=h&z=17

Surely if we go when the tide is out we can just walk across that sand? I know its only a satellite picture so I might be mistaken and that might just be sandy coloured water but it certainly looks like there are stones and things lying about on top (i.e. things that wouldn't sit on top of water). Anyone know if the exclusivly-boat-accessibility is a fiction (as I suspect) or anything else about this intriguing isle?

Brentford Ait, the long thin island just east of Lot's Ait, looks like its walkable to too. Anyone know?

Also, anyone know all about tides and stuff so as to be safe. We don't want to drown.

 

[editor]

Here you go: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/538604

Lots Ait is an island separated from the much larger Brentford Ait at high tide and is dominated by the derelict boat maintenance dock and sheds.

The largest area of intertidal mud habitat in the upper Thames is exposed at low tide around the islands. The muds have a rich invertebrate fauna including flatworms, freshwater shrimps and six species of leech. Twenty species of gastropod (mostly snails) have also been recorded and two of these, the ear snail and the trumpet ramshorn snail, have very restricted distributions. The muds are therefore a rich feeding ground for birds. Teal and wigeon visit the muds during the winter months, while other birds feed year round and nest on the islands.

 

[Crispy]

Reckon the mud wouldn't support your weight. Maybe with some wide planking you could lay a 'walking' bridge as you go, to distribute your weight. And you'd have to be careful not to be trapped by the tide!

 

[Kanda]

It's definitely quite unsafe mud down there, not sand.

 

[T & P]

I didn't know there were leeches on the Thames!

That alone would put me off any attempt to walk on the mud. Having said, that using skis or even makeshift planks of wood attached to your feet might well be enough to cross it without incident.

 

[smmudge]

How about just up the river, to Isleworth Ait? Volunteers for the London Wildlife Trust go over there occassionally; I'd imagine the wildlife there is a little more interesting.