This is one of the wonders of the world - I think it's an astonishing piece of engineering. Originally expected to be used only a few times a year at neap and spring tides it now protects the city dozens of times a year.
I thoroughly recommend the Thames River Cruise to the Barrier.
As well as seeing the annual Thames Barge Race on our recent trip to London we saw this beautiful sail barge as we sat and ate a "proper hamburger " at Greenwich.
London is a wonderful place to visit. We've been very much enjoying being tourists and catching up on how London has changed since we lived here.
Map apps in smartphones have made bus travel, so much more interesting and fun than the Tube, easy and accessible. It's great to see all the different faces of the city from the top of a bus.
Scenic highlight of the weekend for me was the cruise from Westminster Dock to the Thames Barrier and back to Greenwich.
On our way downriver we saw the start of the annual Thames Barge Race . Nowadays it takes four men and a steersman to do what one man used to do. Row a barge upriver from Greenwich to Westminster Pier without bumping into a single bridge. If you do, you have to start again.
Compare the modern orange tug in the second photo down with the lovely old lady in the third picture.
