With the upcoming Olympics now just a few weeks away preparations are under way to prepare London for its starring role in the games.
It’s going to be busy in London and the transport station is going to be packed. This means that getting around London by Underground is going to be rather more unpleasant than it currently is – and, to be honest, at the best of times London’s Underground, whilst extremely convenient, is a nightmare to travel on during the rush hour.
In addition the forecast is that the road system – unless you happen to be one of the VIP’s who can speed along using the Olympic Lanes – is going to come close to gridlock.
So is there an alternative?
Well, you could always travel by water.
Thames Clippers will be operating a 2012 Games Riverbus that will be servicing all the major Thames piers down rive to Greenwich. You can download a pdf of the stops here.
The Thames makes for a lovely way of getting through London and, although there may be some river congestion due to visiting boats, it may be a far more relaxing way to travel during the Olympics than going by road or underground.
If you want to really pamper yourself the people at Water Chariots will be offering a Canal boat service that will take you from the Limehouse Basin along the River lea to their exclusive pier located just 70 yards from the waterside Victoria Gate (the closest gate to the Olympic Stadium).
At £45 (£95 for the VIP experience) this isn’t a particularly cheap service, but it certainly will make for a far more relaxing journey than battling through the traffic or sweltering on the Underground system.
So, there are a few ways of getting around London during the Olympic Games. And, for a real adventure, you can travel to our Jack the Ripper Tour by river taxi also. Simply get off the boat at Tower Pier, head to the right of the Tower of London. Cross the road to Minories, walk to the end of Minories, go left along Aldgate Hight Street, keep ahead onto Whitechapel High Street and keep going until you reach the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Our walk starts outside Exit Four of Aldgate East Underground Station, which is on the opposite side of the road from the Whitechapel Art Gallery. It might sound a long walk but its only a little over 15 minutes.