The River Thames - photos and stories

[ska invita]

If a "proper" beach means one where you'd actually want to hang out and where you might want to go into the water, and if "closest" is measured by "quickest time to get there on public transport from south London" then investigations carried out be me in the past have determined Whitstable as the one on the south side and Chalkwell (Southend-on-sea) on the north side.

not sure about train times but on the south bank Sheerness/Minster (essentially two ends of the same beach) is geographically closer, and quicker in a car - the far end of Minster is the nicest bit of the stretch

North coast Chalkwell looks like a big proper beach, though on the map there is a little thing called Thorney Bay Beach on Canvey that does look proper and accessible (as opposed to something like Egypt Bay Beach on the south, which is inaccessible) and is closer

Sheerness does have a station, but I cant see one near Thorney

 

[teuchter]

not sure about train times but on the south bank Sheerness/Minster (essentially two ends of the same beach) is geographically closer, and quicker in a car - the far end of Minster is the nicest bit of the stretch

North coast Chalkwell looks like a big proper beach, though on the map there is a little thing called Thorney Bay Beach on Canvey that does look proper and accessible (as opposed to something like Egypt Bay Beach on the south, which is inaccessible) and is closer

Sheerness does have a station, but I cant see one near Thorney

By train Denmark Hill to Whitstable is about 1hr30 (with one change). Sheerness is an additional change and about 1hr44.

Loughborough Junction to Chalkwell is a little more than 1hr30.

No station on Canvey Island so I think you'd need to go to Benfleet and get a bus which would end up taking longer. Never actually tried this though - should perhaps give it a go.

Back on the Kent side it's a shame the branch line to Allhallows on the Isle of Grain didn't survive.

 

[ska invita]

Btw East end of Minster beach at low tide you get this string of 'ten' ship wrecks... Suggestion is they've been deliberately wrecked, ive not searched more deeply on it.. They look cool though

 

[Chilli.s]

And round the corner on the Medway theres a German submarine wreck, amongst others

 

[toblerone3]

erith has a sort of edge of the world feel to it.

the town centre was comprehensively buggered in the mid 60s (one of the first acts of the new london borough of bexley when erith borough got merged in to it) - akin to the most concretey bits of thamesmead

that got swept away maybe 10 - 20 years ago

The heathland on the top of the hill at Erith is beautiful I find.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

erith past and present-ish



they have drawn a veil over the bloody awful 1960s town centre, which lasted about 40 years

this (not mine) from 1979

 

[Puddy_Tat]

taken by my great uncle - c 1950

 

[Sasaferrato]

taken by my great uncle - c 1950

Look at the air quality, or lack thereof.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Look at the air quality, or lack thereof.

the water quality would have been a bit dubious as well...

 

[Sasaferrato]

the water quality would have been a bit dubious as well...

Yep, that would still have been lead pipe days.

1984 I stayed in the Union Jack Club in London for a month whilst working at Barts. I managed to get on the roof of the UJC to take photos, when I got them developed, I took them back, as I thought they had been badly processed, only to be told the murkiness was what passed for air in London.

Scroll forward to 2019.

There is no doubt that the LEZ has helped air quality.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Wapping cannabis march, 1941





Or might be the blitz…

 

[clicker]

 

[Epona]

I forgot I took these the other day, these are some views of the Thames at Trinity Buoy Wharf







And the lighthouse (which I already posted on the lighthouse thread, but it works here too!)

 

[cesare]

Went as far North as it's possible to go in South London today:

View attachment 331438

We had our foil-wrapped sarnies by the main outfall apron of the Crossness sewage works looking over to Ford's Dagenham plant; who says I don't know how to show a girl a good time?

Started round at Erith; in all my 40 years living in London this was my first visit...liked the pier with it's glorious views down to the Dartford crossing.

View attachment 331442

Well impressed that my poo from Wallington gets all the way up to Crossness!

View attachment 331443

The Crossness works are amazingly beautiful. They have open days at least monthly when you can get to see the Victorian works plus beautiful tiles etc

There's also the opportunity to see what's being done with the steam train (RANG) railway. There's also amazing walks around the area including a lake with jetties, willows and water fowl.

True, not much in the way of pubs for those that value pubs.

 

[Sasaferrato]

From the other day.

 

[editor]

Low tide at Bankside, ten mins ago.

 

[existentialist]

View attachment 341309

Low tide at Bankside, ten mins ago.

Don't go and make me take a photo of my estuary!

 

[T & P]

By happy coincidence I snapped this large group of swans last Sunday at what turns out to be the same spot- there were more out of shot.



I’m used to seeing swans at much more tranquil waters, and even on the Thames itself on the much calmer areas upriver, but I don’t recall seeing them very often as far downstream as central London. If I were a swan I’d certainly fuck off a few miles westwards. Even still-tidal areas such as Barnes and Kingston are a lot more sedated than at this spot.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I like the Thames. I always spend a bit of time sitting at the river watching the traffic up and down.

The sight of a seagull drifting upstream is bizarre, on another occasion, the incoming tide and the outgoing river were in equilibrium, and the seagull stayed on the spot. This was at Waterloo Bridge.

 

[RubyToogood]

By happy coincidence I snapped this large group of swans last Sunday at what turns out to be the same spot- there were more out of shot.

View attachment 346070

I’m used to seeing swans at much more tranquil waters, and even on the Thames itself on the much calmer areas upriver, but I don’t recall seeing them very often as far downstream as central London. If I were a swan I’d certainly fuck off a few miles westwards. Even still-tidal areas such as Barnes and Kingston are a lot more sedated than at this spot.

I too have a photo of swans at Bankside. I was a bit surprised to see them there too actually. This was a few weeks ago.

 

[TopCat]

The tidal Thames is teeming with fish.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

two things (not mine) from the interwebs today



and some photos from 1960s Billingsgate

Around Billingsgate | Spitalfields Life

spitalfieldslife.com

 

[clicker]

An Anthony Gormley near the O2.



The cable car.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

not mine, but came up on tweeter

 

[Artaxerxes]

not mine, but came up on tweeter

Disco Elysium quote that

 

[Puddy_Tat]

two from yesterday - i was in woolwich, and it occurred to me that i'd never ventured in to what was the arsenal grounds (it was all gated and heavily guarded when i was a kitten)

two from near woolwich arsenal pier

 

[Puddy_Tat]

on teh tweeter today,

blackfriars bridge, c. 1910

 

[Puddy_Tat]

the river is sort of incidental to this one but -

mid 1980s

source

 

[T & P]

Fun fact. Despite what the law says, you can watch football whilst drinking your beer at The Valley. The area immediately behind the large stand on the left of the image is now part of the stadium's footprint, and when I went there last year as an away supporter, you could just pop outside for a beer and a fag at half time, and watch the action when it resumed standing next to the stand

 

[Epona]

Some "Not the Thames" pictures - not sure where else to put these though.
This is the River Lea at Bow Creek not far from where it meets the Thames - last Friday when there was snow on the ground.