The Thames

After the Grand Union Canal we went on the tidal Thames to travel up to my Aunt's house. We started at Limehouse Marina which is close to Canary Wharf in London. We had to go through an electronic lock to get onto the Thames since the current is so strong you can't push the gates open yourself.

We saw lots of amazing sights going along the Thames. The first cool sight was London Bridge which we went under. Just after London Bridge we went alongside the Tower of London which used to be a prison. We also went past the London Eye which is a giant Ferris wheel and opposite was Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I could just see in the distance "The Gherkin" which is a gherkin shaped building. We also went past a giant Navy ship that is now open to tourists. And we saw the MI6 building, which is the secret service for the English government. It was cool! Along the Thames there are a lot of amazing apartment buildings.

The tidal Thames wasn't like the Grand Union Canal as there were waves from the big boats that went past. We saw a very fast ferry which was faster than any other ferry I've ever seen. When we go back we are going to go on it.

As we were getting closer to my aunt's house, we saw Hampton Court which was owned by King Henry VII but is now open to the public. Then we arrived at my aunt's house which is a little bit further past the bridge from Hampton Court. At the bottom of the garden there is a mooring for boats so we stopped there for three days. I went kayaking with my grandpa on the Thames and we also took the dog for a walk in Bushy Park. After the walk, we rode the bikes back to look at the deer and we came across a cricket game which the deer were trying to invade. We saw a giant stag which had 8 branches on each antler. He was the biggest of the lot.

While we were in London, we went to the London Eye and Buckingham Palace and we saw the guards doing their daily exercise. We also went to Madam Tussuad's which is a place that has wax sculptures of famous people inside. They are life size and they wear suits and costumes e.g. David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Shane Warne, Einstein, George Bush, God (but this was Morgan Freeman), Harry Potter, Captain Jack Sparrow and William Turner. I also saw Jamie Oliver and George Clooney. There is also a taxi ride which takes you around the old ruins of London. It's not a real taxi! The best thing in London was the London Eye because I saw everything around London since it is so high.