Horsleydown Old Stairs

Looking up Horsleydown Old Stairs, from the foreshore.

Back when the River Thames was a working river, there were countless stairs that workers could use to access the foreshore. Over time, many of these stairs were removed or access restricted. Some, like Horsleydown Old Stairs, still give access to the River Thames.

City Beyond the Bridge.

One of the reasons that I love using these stairs, to access the foreshore, is the unique views you can get of the historic Tower Bridge. Plus, there is a wide swathe of the foreshore to explore, where pieces of clay pipes are in abundance, along with other artefacts favoured by mudlarks.

Foreshore: South

What we leave behind...

It was a gloriously warm Friday morning, in the Unfinished City, as I made my way down on to the foreshore of the River Thames, just west of the MillenniuM Bridge. The tide was still receding, which allowed me to walk along the shore, below Blackfriars Bridge, to the steps in front of the OXO Restaurant Bar & Brasserie.

The foreshore, itself, was remarkably clean with little in the way of litter, making the task of finding those little pieces of history that much simpler. Within minutes I had found some smashed clay pipes, dating from between the 16-18th centuries. This was my first ever find on the foreshore, although I had looked for them on numerous occasions. There were scores of Thames Spuds (old London bricks that have been eroded and rounded by the tide), countless Iron Nails (possibly from where ships had been broken up on the foreshore), pieces of timber (possibly from the broken up ships) and an old wheel that looked as it had come from a horse-drawn carriage.

Relics

Relics.

Friday August 5, 2016.

These are all of the things that I have found on the foreshore of the River Thames. As I do not have a Mudlarking Licence, I can only recover what is on the surface. Even so, it is a wonderful feeling when you find something, like a piece of a pipe, that hasn't been touched by a living person in, possibly, centuries.

'City Beyond the Bridge'

City Beyond the Bridge.

Saturday June 6, 2015.

On one of my annual late Summer walks, around the Unfinished City, I dropped down onto the River Thames foreshore and stood beneath Tower Bridge. The summer sun, partially obscured by clouds, caused some great shadows to be cast, allowing me to take this shot.

With the City of London and the Tower of London, in the background, and with waves gently lapping against the foreshore, this a great place to grab some unique shots.