The River Thames - photos and stories

[blossie33]

In the Spitalfields Life blog today, the story of Billy and Charley's Shadwell Shams - what amazing ingenuity from a pair of illiterate East Enders!

Billy & Charley’s Shadwell Shams | Spitalfields Life

spitalfieldslife.com

Apologies if it's been posted earlier, I know I've read it before!

 

[Puddy_Tat]

kitty from dr salter's daydream set of statues at rotherhithe

 

[petee]

youtube put this by me

 

[editor]

The autumn colours were so beautiful on this walk I actually got a bit emotional!

In photos: a wonderful autumnal walk from Hampton Court to Kingston alongside the River Thames -

Yesterday, we took a short, three mile stroll alongside the River Thames from Hampton Court to Kingston. We started the journey from Hampton Court station, which is a short hop from Waterloo or Vauxhall stations in central London. Heading north across Hampton Court Bridge to pick up the river...

www.urban75.org

 

[Happy Tree]

That walk is actually the only walk I've done along the Thames. Lovely!

 

[editor]

What a sunset last night!

Walking the River Thames at sunset – Vauxhall to the Millennium Bridge -

Here's a series of photos taken during a walk from Vauxhall to the Millennium Bridge, just as the sun was going down. Join the forum chat The River Thames – photos and stories (over 700 posts) Central London photos – parks, buildings, street scenes and London life (over 200 posts)

www.urban75.org

 

[Epona]

What a sunset last night!

View attachment 450952

Walking the River Thames at sunset – Vauxhall to the Millennium Bridge -

Here's a series of photos taken during a walk from Vauxhall to the Millennium Bridge, just as the sun was going down. Join the forum chat The River Thames – photos and stories (over 700 posts) Central London photos – parks, buildings, street scenes and London life (over 200 posts)

www.urban75.org

I absolutely love being near rivers and canals, great photos as always

 

[RoyReed]

What a sunset last night!

View attachment 450952

Walking the River Thames at sunset – Vauxhall to the Millennium Bridge -

Here's a series of photos taken during a walk from Vauxhall to the Millennium Bridge, just as the sun was going down. Join the forum chat The River Thames – photos and stories (over 700 posts) Central London photos – parks, buildings, street scenes and London life (over 200 posts)

www.urban75.org

Nice photos editor

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

1900

 

[scalyboy]

No photo, sadly, but last week I was visiting my old man in Fulham and saw a seal in the Thames.

He still lives in the flat we grew up in, between Hammersmith and Putney Bridges, near Craven Cottage and very close to the river. In the 1970s the river was so polluted it was declared 'dead' as nothing could live in it, we only ever saw seagulls - but now you regularly see herons, cormorants, grebes - and the occasional seal! There's barbel, bream, chub, dace, perch and more living in the Thames

It was high tide and for a second or so I saw a humped head and back dipping below the surface - much like those photos of the Loch Ness monster! I thought I had imagined it but luckily there were some dog walkers nearby who also saw it and confirmed it was a bloody big seal. We thought it had lost its way but apparently this stretch of the river is becoming quite popular among the seal community...

 

[scalyboy]

 

[scalyboy]

Nice photos editor

Fabulous pics!

 

[blossie33]

Just come across another photo of people on the beach near Tower Bridge in the 30s!

 

[T & P]

Just come across another photo of people on the beach near Tower Bridge in the 30s!

View attachment 452018

I reckon the waters were somehow cleaner even then

 

[petee]

 

[BassJunkie]

We walked underneath the Thames on Sunday.

 

[Artaxerxes]

No photo, sadly, but last week I was visiting my old man in Fulham and saw a seal in the Thames.

He still lives in the flat we grew up in, between Hammersmith and Putney Bridges, near Craven Cottage and very close to the river. In the 1970s the river was so polluted it was declared 'dead' as nothing could live in it, we only ever saw seagulls - but now you regularly see herons, cormorants, grebes - and the occasional seal! There's barbel, bream, chub, dace, perch and more living in the Thames

It was high tide and for a second or so I saw a humped head and back dipping below the surface - much like those photos of the Loch Ness monster! I thought I had imagined it but luckily there were some dog walkers nearby who also saw it and confirmed it was a bloody big seal. We thought it had lost its way but apparently this stretch of the river is becoming quite popular among the seal community...

Is the seal paying a decent rent on the place?

 

[Epona]

I reckon the waters were somehow cleaner even then

That is actually far from the case - yes there are problems still, but even with the stuff hitting the news about sewage outflow, it is still far cleaner than it used to be and is full of life.

According to this history of the cleanliness of the Thames, it is currently one of the world's cleanest rivers.

While there is still a long way to go, the water quality is much better and a wide range of projects to encourage aquatic life have been successful. Salmon are spotted occasionally, and studies show 125 fish species and 400 invertebrate species call the Thames home.

There is still much improvement to be made, but there is far less unregulated industrial runoff than there used to be (I mean seriously, how much toxic industrial waste would have ended up in the river a hundred years ago when there was less regulation? During eras when the air was filled with smog that killed people too?) and it is a living river in relatively good nick despite everything - and looking with rose-tinted glasses at the past doesn't help us to fight for the river to be even more improved.

Pollution in the River Thames: a history

Lifeline, water source, sewer – follow the murky history of London's relationship with the River Thames

www.rmg.co.uk