BritMums’ Roni Dutta boarded the newly refurbished luxury sightseeing cruiser Silver Sockeye at Tower Bridge Quay with family and friends for a boat tour along the Thames with a difference…
The ever-popular Horrible Histories team’s latest venture Terrible Thames is a 45-minute long performative open-air boat trip on the River Thames departing from Tower Bridge Quay.
More of a high-octane guided tour than a play, two actors guised as a pupil and teacher rapidly deliver fun facts and nuggets of historical information about the renowned bridges, buildings and monuments surrounding London’s famous river. The action starts from the moment the boat sets sail with the actors charging up and down the aisle with tremendous vigour and energy. The duo even buoy up the audience with sea shanties and hand-clapping toward the end of the tour too.
The Thames is the perfect backdrop for gory facts and humorous tidbits of historic interest and there are plenty of fart and poo gags with sound effects (of course), to satisfy fans of the TV show.
Horrible Histories are experts in making learning fun and it was great to see the children onboard laugh and giggle as they lapped up the facts being bombarded at them at speed. We disembarked from the boat on a real high, going over everything we’d learnt.
Some favourite facts from the Terrible Thames tour
- “Cleopatra’s Needle has a time capsule buried underneath it with the portraits of 12 pretty ladies inside.” – Arun (8yrs)
- “I can’t believe only 12 people died in the Great Fire of London!” Zoe (10yrs)
- “The gunpowder plot took place on the 4th not the 5th of November.” Arun (8yrs)
- “The River Thames has frozen 23 times and they used to play football on it!” – Zoe (10yrs)
Who would love the Terrible Thames tour?
If you’re planning a day trip to London with the kids over the summer holidays, the Terrible Thames tour provides a great way to see London’s major sights including The Shard, HMS Belfast, The London Eye, Houses of Parliament and Tate Modern in a short space of time. But both Londoners and out-of-towners alike will enjoy this scenic and entertaining trip along the river especially in the company of young children.
BritMums Top Tips for taking the Terrible Thames tour
- Book – Book ahead and allow plenty of time to get there.
- Go to Tower Bridge QUAY, not Tower Pier – Tower Bridge Quay isn’t the same as Tower Pier (as we discovered) and Google maps has yet to update this information. Follow the signs to St Katherine’s Dock the quay is next to Tower Bridge on the south side of the river.
- Get involved…or sit near the back – Be warned there is a small amount of audience participation and you may well become a brief part of the show if you sit in an aisle seat.
- Make time to eat and drink afterwards – There are plenty of places in St Katherine’s dock to rest, refuel and talk about the show afterwards.
Tickets and information
Daily sailings to begin Saturday 17th July from Tower Bridge Quay, London
Adult £22.50 (15+) Child £14.00 (4-14) Infants £FREE (0-3)
Family & Group tickets available
Covid-secure measures are in place.
BritMums was gifted preview tickets to Horrible Histories Live Onboard! TERRIBLE THAMES.
More outings with kids
About Ronita Dutta
Former BritMums Brilliance in Blogging judge and award-winning freelance journalist with over 20 years experience producing engaging content for clients including BBC Studios, The Independent and Penguin. She's written on a diverse range of subjects from health and beauty to parenting, education, psychology and even the weather. Daughter of Bengali immigrants, Ronita was born and bred in London where she and her son can often be found building endless Lego creations.
Carol
Friday 27th of August 2021
CORRECTION: Tower Bridge Quay is on the north side of the river, not the south.
Cindy Siu
Saturday 7th of August 2021
Really good and enjoyable, both for the children and adults. Although the weather wasn't great today, we were accommodated at the lower deck and the sound effect was just as good. Highly recommended to family with children who have read horrible histories and love it!
Jennifer Howze
Friday 13th of August 2021
Cindy, thanks for your comments. Good to have the perspective of a family enjoying from the lower deck! x
Jennifer Howze
Thursday 29th of July 2021
Doesn't it look great? Also love that it makes history extra-fun.
Kirsty
Monday 19th of July 2021
This sounds brilliant, my kids would love it! Definitely putting this on our to do list this summer.