By Richard Lamberth features@algarveresident.com
A couple of weeks ago, London’s great river hit the headlines briefly when an old wartime DUKW amphibious vehicle caught fire whilst ferrying a bunch of holidaymakers along the Thames.
Suddenly all those health and safety warnings that we tend to ignore when we go on these things mattered as people found themselves donning lifejackets and jumping into the muddy water. It could have been worse – or maybe better – the tide was low and with DuckTours also specialising in corporate events, the unedifying sight of business people jumping in with their suits and iPhones would surely have brought a smile to all our faces!
No one was seriously hurt, but you wonder whether these things will ever be allowed to descend the ramp at Albert Embankment beside the MI6 building again and take people on this rather unique and peculiarly British sightseeing extravaganza.
It will be a shame if the familiar sight of these weird, dripping vehicles trailing around the tourist attractions, after sitting just that little bit too low in the water, disappear for good.
Increasingly though the Thames is being used to transport people around London as the roads slowly become more congested. New river commuter services have recently been introduced from Putney into the City and let’s face it – sitting on a boat with a gin and tonic in hand is a better way of getting home than nestling under someone’s armpit on a crowded tube train.
It is often wrongly thought that the Thames is the only river in London – in fact there are more than 20 ‘lost rivers’ – tributaries to the Thames that have been buried under streets, office blocks, shops and houses.
If Mayor Boris Johnson and various property developers get their way, you will be hearing a lot more about these as new developments open up hidden waterways to build prestigious and valuable waterside properties. Boris’s ‘London Rivers Action Plan’ aims to reinstate subterranean streams and waterways to create new parks and recreational places. The aim is “to reconnect people to the natural environment, reduce the negative impact of climate change and protect wildlife habitats”.
Some of these hidden rivers are in surprising places – the river Fleet, unsurprisingly, now you know, runs beneath the street of the same name and Sir Christopher Wren had similar plans to Boris for a Venetian-style canal right there.
But did you know that the Tyburn runs directly under Buckingham Palace or that the Walbrook runs through a tunnel under the Bank of England? And how about those Sloane rangers when they get off the tube – do they realise the river Westbourne is running through a tunnel above their heads!
A fascinating exhibition of the work by John Robertson Architects, hosted by the Royal Watercolour Society, has just finished at the Bankside Gallery near the Tate Modern. This included a vision of London for the future with green, forested islands dotted around the Thames and several bridges, including Tower Bridge turned into pedestrian, landscaped walkways.
Whatever happens, it seems that Londoners are intent on making the most of their rivers and with plentiful rainfall forecast in the UK this looks like one natural resource that won’t run out!
