Old Father Thames is the longest and best-known river in England and has inspired many a writer and artist. In this walk, you will go from Tower Bridge to the Houses of Parliament as you explore how the river and the city have shaped each other.
Most of the walk will follow the recently regenerated and pedestrian South Bank, where you will pass the rebuilt Shakespearean Globe Theatre, ruins of a medieval palace and the former Bankside Power Station, which has been transformed into London's most recent art museum, the Tate Modern.
Royal palaces and modern government buildings will illuminate the river's role as a power base; old warehouses and wharfs will illustrate the working river and the bridges will tell the story of the development of areas previously divided. In addition, you will chart how London has cleaned up its act – and its river – since the ‘Big Stink' of 1858, allowing the Thames to once again become a diverse wildlife habitat with over 120 species of fish and an ever-growing population of Chinese mitten crabs.
You will finish your walk at one of the latest riverside attractions, the London Eye, where you may want to retrace your steps and enjoy a bird's-eye view of the river from one of the world's tallest Ferris wheels (Tickets not included).
A guided stroll down the banks of the Thames
