My friends Steve, Terry and I decided to spend a day floating down the Thames and go to Richmond and just enjoy the summer day. We bought our tickets from at the ticket booth at Hampton Court located on the River Thames just across the Thames from the Big London Eye and directly across the street from Big Ben. If you have a Travel Card which is a daily travel pass, you can receive a 30% discount. Our 1100 departure came and went but eventully this smal boat arrived and docked closer to 1115am. The three person crew were very friendly, welcomed us aboard and off we went. We were lucky enough to be on The Connaught, a vintage ship from the Edwardian times celebrating her 99th year plying the Thames; fortunately, her engine and crew were not that old! This ship has an open deck up front as well as in the back but if you want to stay out of the wind and cool breezes there is a large covered area below with windows, tables and chairs and a bar! We became very friendly with the bar tender buying several pints of beer. The captain of the Connaught gave commentary along the way which was nice but he also just let us enjoy the peace and quiet to enjoy the beauty of the Thames. Immediately upon our departure, I realized how the Thames slices through Central London and winds its way through the city. If you are a Planespotter, you'll love this trip too because we pretty much followed the landing and take off patterns of London's Heathrow airport; we were lucky enough to be under Emirates new A380 from Dubai as it made its final approach to LHR, the wingspan seemed to dwarf that of the 747-400!. We passed many old buildings on the banks of the Thames, what were once loading dock areas of the past have been converted to very trendy lofts offering excellent views of the Thames. I especially liked the numerous bridges that we sailed underneath, some were built over 100 years ago and still operating! Each one seemed to have it's own personality, I would take this tour again just to see the bridges. As we continued closer to Richmond the city of London left us and the countryside welcomed us, lots of weeping willow trees on the banks, rustic flowers blooming in the late summer season and large estates began to appear with very large back yards and private launches for their own boats; that's the life! Eventually we arrived at the first lock we needed to get through to enter the next section of the Thames. If you have cruised through the Panama Canal you will understand how this works, this was a miniature version but using the same engineering. Within 10-15minutes we had risen about 8-10feet, the lock in front of us was opened and we continued on our way to Kew. On this trip we did not leave the Connaught at Kew but I highly recommend going to Kew Gardens, they are absolutely beautiful and the conservatory has one of the best displays of Orchids I have seen. We picked up a few more customers and left for Richmond. At this point we were truly in the country and there's nothing to do but just sit back and enjoy the gentle motion of the ship, take in the sunshine, have a sip of your beer and be thankful for a wonderful day. We arrived in beautiful Richmond, many restaurants and pubs along the river and incase you don't want to take the ship back to London there is a train that will whisk you back to Waterloo station in just 25minutes. I truly enjoyed this trip and recommend it for anyone who is visiting, traveling by boat/ship beats riding the underground anyday. read more

Thames River Party Boats - Connaught in front of the London Eye - Boat Charters Near Me - London, XGL

We had spent a very nice morning at Hampton Court Palace, enjoying a picnic in the sun until about 3.00pm when we decided to take a river boat ride back into Central London for our train home. We boarded our river boat just beside Hampton Court Palace and were heading back to Westminster Pier. I did take a seat under the awning for the trip as it was a blazing hot day and am glad I did. The journey back to Westminster Pier took 3 hours, but only made a few stops along the way. Those that sat up top predictably got quite sunburnt. The most picturesque part of the route is from Hampton Court, through the river as far as Barnes and Mortlake. You can see some beautiful properties which lie beside the banks of the river and it's extremely pretty. Once you are past Putney, it's mainly a few parks and office buildings, but the journey itself is very pleasant, relaxing and a great chance to chat with friends, have a beer/wine or whatever and just relax. read more

If time is short to catch the sights of london this is a lovely way to spend the few hours you have. Various trips available and various stop up points. Cost of the trips vary but all budgets are catered for.. read more

Had a lovely sailing along the Thames in June after visiting the Tower of London. The boat stop is handy for the Tower and you can sail back up to Westminster and over to the London Eye which is what we did. The boats are pretty frequent and we had no problem getting on one and we sat outside to enjoy the sun and the sights along the way as we knew it wasnt a long journey. The commentary is informative and interesting and gives you plenty of time to see everything and get some photos. We enjoyed being told where to look to get a sneak view of St Pauls Cathedral and also sailing past the Globe Theatre. We thought it was a really enjoyable way to see the sights from a different perspective and thought it great value for money. An extra point to note is if you have a day saver travelcard you get discount off the fares. read more

Taking a Thames river boat makes a lovely day out. It's a lovely and unique way to see the Capital and you even get a guide on every boat pointing out the landmarks and other points of interest. There are plenty of places where you can catch a boat - I went from Embankment and went to Greenwich, which takes around an hour. You can get off the boat whenever you like, take a walk around and then catch the next boat, so if you're interested in any of the places your guide points out, get off at the next stop and explore. There are some lovely hidden places in London and this is the ideal way to find them. You'll also see the more famous highlights - on my trip we sailed past the London Eye and under Tower Bridge. Make sure you pick a good day for it though. When I went the day started off sunny and bright but after 45 minutes it was cold and there was torrential rain. At such times a boat along the Thames is the last place you will want to be as there isn't much shelter. Despite this I had a lovely time I wouldn't hesitate to go back. This time I'll choose the middle of the summer though. read more

Very fun tour with a sense of humor. Weather was not forgiving by presenting cold and stinging colder wind but we chose to sit outside so that's our fault lol. Learned some interesting facts. read more

I had a great day on the river in the sunshine going along on one of the boats. We also got a 3 course lunch as part of the experience. Would definitely recommend for friends and family. A very good way to see the sights! read more

Thames River Party Boats - River cruise - Thames - Boat Charters Near Me - London, XGL

Great way to move round the city, the trip down to Greenwich is very informative thanks to the brilliant and funny commentary by a member of the crew. The less than well known historical facts are worth the price of the trip alone.Should you wish to visit Kew Gardens or Hampton Court this is the easiest and most pleasurable way to go. Sitting on deck on a nice sunny day with a nice fairly cheap beer makes one feel so relaxed. The opportunities for some different angles for photographing London,s landmarks is an added bonus. look out for special offers and save some money read more

I'm giving them Five Stars because it was a wondrous window into the life of the River and a totally fun day's outing. You see all sorts of sights if you do the arduous Kew Richmond Hampton bivouac, one of several offerings by TRB, which is based by Westminster. (That tour is their longest and you can do one way or round trip.) There were several older tourists on board, mostly from Europe, and some grumbled that it took too long ("more than two hours"). But this tour involved two locks and tides and weather, plus traffic, all of which can stretch length on board considerably. Three hours (both ways) plus a tour of Hampton is an all day affair -- so plan accordingly. I chose a round trip and devoted the whole day to it. Even I had enough and decided to walk to the Hampton Court station and take a train back to Waterloo Station. Easily done. We had some mechanical problems, too, but I had an informative, memorable day on the wold's greatest river with genial staff members and plenty of snacks and drinks on board. So my day was probably not their best, but for me, it was a happy-making day. It's what you make of it, too, and I was gleeful to make the ride. read more

It's actually a clean river with a mud base but serves a great river cruise or windy walk along is sides. Many locations near the river and much history to be learned I suggest a River cruise. I took the City Cruises under the London Pass (free with pass). read more

You get that call from one of your best mates announcing that they are heading to the big smoke for the weekend. Fantastic. Then they say that you must know London really well by and they are sure that you'll be just the person to show them all the sights. Panic, suddenly you can't think of a thing to do in London for apart from head down to your local from Saturday afternoon onwards followed by brekkie in the greasy spoon next door but, no fear, the answer lies in the river, or rather on it. Getting either the tourist boat (one of them has a great commentary the co. that do it live, not recorded) telling you all kinds of weird and wonderful facts some of which the most experienced Londoners don't know! Or you can get a day ticket on the clipper which will take you from the London eye, stop of at the Tate Modern right down to Greenwich for a good look round the market, you can hop on and off all day with the same ticket, great stuff! read more

A classy way to spend a night with friends particularly if they're just here for a little visit. Show off this dusty old town from the Thames and you're sure to impress. read more

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