Venturer last cruised the tideway to Tower Bridge and beyond ten years ago. Now she is revisiting the Pool of London, sailing from Kingston to the Thames Barrier and back over one weekend, to celebrate 20 years on the River Thames and to fundraise for our second boat.

Leaving Kingston on Friday 3rd July at cocktail hour, we will take an evening cruise down to Chiswick Pier where we will moor for the night. There will be an introduction to the work of the Pier Trust and the RNLI station there, or you can walk ashore with a self-help guide to follow the Thames Path through the historic Chiswick to Hammersmith reach.

On Saturday we depart early and pass through London, to moor late morning at the Hermitage Moorings – only accessible to historic boats. From there, we have a perfect view for watching the Thames Historic Barge Driving event that afternoon; Watermen and Lighterman row barges upstream from Greenwich to Westminster in their annual celebration of the days when rowing was the only power available.  There will then be time to explore ashore.

On Sunday we take the ebb tide down to the Thames Barrier and then turn upstream to enjoy the full flow back home, taking in the glory of Central London’s sights, and views that have changed radically in the last ten years, before disembarking back in Kingston later in the afternoon.

Residential places for the full experience are now all taken but there are two day spaces for Saturday and two for Sunday.  Early starts from Chiswick Pier (Saturday) or the Hermitage Moorings (Sunday).  There is a suggested donation of £75 for joining the cruise for the day including breakfast and a light lunch or (Saturday only) £100 if you’d like to stay for dinner too.  If you are interested email info@thamesboatproject.org.

Reproduced from the Friends Spring 2015 Newsletter