Saturday, 16 September 2023, 09:00am

Celebrate Totally Thames 2023

Join us for an exclusive walk to uncover London’s maritime past as part of the Totally Thames festival 2023.. Immortalised in JMW Turner’s iconic paining and the £20 note is the last journey of HMS Temeraire to the breaker’s yard. The history of shipbreaking on the River Thames is less known and this walk will explore how Rotherhithe became a centre of shipbreaking during the 19th century. Meeting at Rotherhithe Overground Station this walk will also visit the Thames forehsore to examine some of the remains of the once great ships broken up in the area. The walk will last 3 hours and will finish at Surrey Docks Farm.

This event involves walking over an uneven surface and is therefore not suitable for young children or people with mobility issues.

The walk will begin at 09:00am, meet next to Rotherhithe Overground Station.  (Find the location on What3Words or Google Maps

Standard tickets are £20 and concessionary tickets at £10 are available for over 65s, under 25s, disabled people or living with long-term health conditions, or people claiming means-tested benefits.

Further Information

Our walks are extremely popular and usually sell out, please cancel your ticket as soon as possible if you’re not able to attend. We’ll refund anyone who cancels their place up to 24 hours before the start of the event.

The foreshore surface can be uneven and muddy – please wear sturdy footwear, boots or wellies are recommended! Waterproof gloves and hand sanitiser are also advisable. In case of bad weather, the walks may be postponed or cancelled.

Read more about what you need to know before you come and foreshore walk accessibility

The TDP leads regular guided walks on the foreshore for adults, and families with older children and teenagers. These walks focus on the history and heritage of the river including those structures and features exposed by the movement of sediment in this dynamic environment, which are monitored and archaeologically recorded by the FROG. Thanks to the kind permission of the Port of London Authority, some surface-only artefact handling may be permitted when attending a TDP foreshore walk, but all finds must be examined by the archaeologist on site, and significant artefacts must be recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme Please be aware that if you wish to regularly search the foreshore for artefacts at other times you must be in possession of a Permit to Search the Foreshore, issued by the Port of London Authority