The River Thames - photos and stories

[Ponyutd]

Let's see your Thames views.

The 30's.

Turner. Houses of Parliament ablaze.

 

[ringo]

Frost fairs - 1814

 

[ringo]

Somerset House in 1817, showing how the Thames originally flowed directly past the building. Boats could go through the arches to a wharf inside the building to unload.

Building the road and present Embankment in the 1860s:

 

[gosub]

upstream from Boulter's lock, best bit of the Thames Capability Brown in full effect

 

[ruffneck23]

i am currently 30 feet away from westminster bridge, i will photo the thames a little bit later and post up

 

[RedDragon]

 

[ringo]

Father Thames

Statue - Lechlade

Pollution:

 

[boohoo]

A night time view...

 

[goldenecitrone]

The Thames at Battersea. Whistler.

 

[Ponyutd]

That's new to me....beautiful!

 

[plurker]

John Virtue: Landscape Number 710 (larger pic on this link)

and London Bridge: I love the lights so I took a pic. No photoshopping, just a long exposure (12s iirc) and a tripod (tho it needs a crop)

 

[ruffneck23]

A night time view...

thats pretty much the view ive got from my hotel

 

[Pickman's model]

the thames at gravesend

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

 

[boohoo]

thats pretty much the view ive got from my hotel

View from where I gave birth to my daughter (not that it helped in anyway!)

 

[ruffneck23]

ah , im across the road at the park plaza ( staying here yes, but also working )

 

[DotCommunist]

compared to the mighty Nene it is a mere stream- like a line of gnats wee next to the ganges

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

The source of the Thames...

The Thames Path sign only points one way

And here it is....

Proper waste of time going there.

 

[clicker]

Dont say that i am walking from the thames barrier to the source in chunks... got as far as henley-on-thames so far - love this river.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Dont say that i am walking from the thames barrier to the source in chunks... got as far as henley-on-thames so far - love this river.

There's rarely water at the source, just a dry hole (that I pee'd in). It was a right faff to get to with a baby buggy, so I suppose that put a downer on it...

 

[clicker]

Bahnhof Strasse The final stretches look a right faff even without a buggy - not much public transport if any , how did you manage it?

 

[clicker]

The Thames Barrier - Woolwich.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Bahnhof Strasse The final stretches look a right faff even without a buggy - not much public transport if any , how did you manage it?

It was hard, hard to go over three styles and a rail line!

 

[RedDragon]

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Dont say that i am walking from the thames barrier to the source in chunks... got as far as henley-on-thames so far - love this river.

That's a cool thing your doing clicker

When you went past Penton Hook Lock, did you cross over and walk around the Island by any chance?

 

[wiskey]

I was going to post similarly dry photos of the source.

 

[_pH_]

The source of the Thames...

And here it is....

Proper waste of time going there.

Is it cider by the time it gets to London?

 

[ska invita]

Pollution:

the vast majority of buildings along the main stretch of the thames were desinged to have their backs to the thames, mainly because it stank so much

 

[ska invita]

i had a bit of a revelation after going on a boat party once...you head of out of London to the east and almost immediately the view of the riverbank is pretty much purely industrial...Greenwich provides a little break, but once you get past Greenwich its endlessly bleak - then eventually the boat turns around and you head back to London....the bleakness goes on and on and then just as you turn the the last bend, seemingly out of nowhere youre faced with this:

and that experience of coming in under Tower Bridge is like going through a front door into London proper - probably especially so when the bridge is drawn (looks a bit like a pair of opening doors even). Id always just thought of Tower Bridge as just another (over the top) London bridge, but in a way its Londons first bridge, and grand gate into London. In a way it even plays the defensive role of a door as it can stop any too large boats from coming in if not raised...

 

[ska invita]

Dont say that i am walking from the thames barrier to the source in chunks... got as far as henley-on-thames so far - love this river.

ive done most of the river out east but i havent gone upstream at all...almost got the river boat up to Hampton Court last year but something came up...definitely going to do it this year....

is there a particularly good stretch that lends itself to biking anyone know?