River Thames Tide Gauge Hut

River Thames Tide Gauge Hut.

If you were to leave Westminster Station via the Westminster Pier exit, or made your way down the north steps from Westminster Bridge, you will quite possibly have walked by this odd little green turret without giving it a moment's thought.

However, this copper turret houses some important scientific equipment, which you can see if you peer through one of the two small windows in the door.

Home of the Thames Tide Recorder instruments.

The Tide Recorder measures the depth of the River Thames at Westminster Bridge, or more accurately the mean sea level rather than the river bed, which it then sends to the Thames Barrier Control Room every fifteen minutes. This information is then published online.

Westminster City Council look after the upkeep of the exterior, while the tide reading equipment is maintained by the Environment Agency.

I have yet to discover when it was installed, but it has been in situ since the 1930's.

If anyone can find more information about its construction or when it was installed, I would be most grateful.

Walking with family: 'Up at The O2' and Rotherhithe to Tower Bridge... and beyond

Saturday May 9, 2026.

A cloudy start turning sunny in the afternoon, at 21°C (69°F).

For Keilyn's 13th birthday, last Thursday, my mum bought her a ticket for the 'Climb Up at The O2', which was something that she has always wanted to do. Emma purchased me a ticket, so that I could do the climb with Keilyn, as it was something that I wanted to do, too. As my mum was unable to accompany us, my uncle Martin would be joining us for the day, to take photos of our climb.

We set off from Croxley station, where we boarded a Metropolitan line train towards Baker Street, alighting at Finchley Road, where we took a Stratford-bound Jubilee line train to North Greenwich. The journey time was around 1 hour, so we ended up at The O2 with plenty of time to spare. 

Martin purchased a drink and a roll, from Starbucks, which he ate in the shade, while Keilyn and I tucked into our sandwiches and drinks. 

Just after 11:30 Keilyn and I made our way to 'Base Camp', with Martin waiting in the shade. As we were early we were allowed to join the 11:45 climb, and made our way through the waiting area. We were soon joined by 11 more climbers and our guide, Conner, who, after showing us a four-minute safety video took us through to get kitted out.

We then made our way outside, where we put on our harness, and clamp, before heading up the stairs to the starting point. By now Martin had headed towards Base Camp, from where he would watch and take photos of our ascent. Here we were met by Emma, who took photos of us all, before we set off on the 30° incline, with Keilyn leading the pack.

Photo ©Martin Bullock.

We stopped where the walkway took on a less acute angle, allowing the others to catch up, before setting off for the centre of the O2. Daisy's group, that had started before us, were still taking in the sights, from the viewpoint, so we joined them, before they headed down and left the thirteen of us to take in the view.