Snapshots of London from the Thames

Snapshots of London from the Thames

On a recent visit to London, we booked a river cruise with City Cruises.

I love walking along the Thames in London, so I thought it would be fun to get out on the river and enjoy the sights from a different perspective. Also, I knew we would have four children with us in London whose legs might need a little break from walking.

I was a little worried when we woke up to rain on the day of our cruise, but one thing I have learned from living in Scotland is that you can’t let the rain hold you back. Besides, the boats have an indoor place to sit just in case, so we decided we would make the best of it!

When we got on board, the rain had stopped so we opted to spread out our raincoats and sit on the upper deck. We ordered tea and coffee from the boat bar to keep the chills away. (Chills in July? Yes, there’s a reason so much tea is consumed on the British Isles!)

One of the benefits of the rain was that our tour boat was almost completely empty. I asked our captain why our boat was so empty (some of the other boats on the river had loads more people on them) and he explained that some of the other boats are commuter boats. I think you can hop on the commuter boats without pre-booking, so I was glad we had pre-booked the Circular Cruise instead.

Even on a dreary day, London is a gorgeous city!

It was my boys’ first trip to London so they loved spotting all the familiar London buildings from years of watching movies set in London and Doctor Who.

They took about 1000 photos of The Shard.

And of course, everyone was excited to see the London Eye!

And Big Ben of course!

Our boat turned around at the Parliament buildings, and on the way back down the river, our boat driver told us a bit of history. He was super knowledgeable and made us all laugh.

We enjoyed our time on the Thames so much! All the kids listed it as one of their favorite things we did during our three days in London!

I also took a little video of our cruise! My brother and his wife, Peter and Whitney, along with their two boys, accompanied my boys and me around Europe in July. They were such great sports and we had a fabulous time! I have lots more posts coming up about this great adventure. We called it #CousinsTakeEurope.

I received our circular cruise complementary from City Cruises, but you can book a family ticket (2 adults, 3 children) on the same Circular Cruise for under 25 GBP. That’s a great deal in any weather!

Also, while we were in London in July, we were hosted by YHA in one of their centrally located hostels. More to come from our fun family visit to London!

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