Monday 3 October 2016

Turning base metals into Gold in Silvertown

Never mind that it's the civil engineering wonder of the 20th century (or that I had a very, very tiny and incidental part to play in the geotechnical engineering of it), or that it has kept Londoners safe from flooding since Oct 1982, the Environment Agency's PR team managed to make the announcement of the annual maintenance of the Thames Barrier sound about as attractive as a damp winter's weekend in Bolton.

Thames Barrier Park sunken gardens

Those who'd read the press releases and decided to give it a miss on Sunday 2 October 2016 ought to be kicking themselves.  The elegant curves of the pier roofs, glistening in the autumn sunshine, which dappled the flowing river combined with the lovely surroundings of the Thames Barrier Park and the wavelike topiary of the hedging in its sunken garden, on the north bank in Silvertown, made the whole thing like watching a Sunday cricket match - with the exception that something was happening all the time.

The Barrier is always impressive from the South Side visitor centre, even if the security nazis think anyone with a camera has the faintest interest in what's going on in the control room 30 metres up in the air, way over your left shoulder.

Thames Barrier from the South Side during Oct 2008

The road less travelled on the north side - there's even a free car park a few metres from the park entrance - at Pontoon Dock (DLR), has a much more interesting view of what the maintenance is really about.  Looking downstream from the London side of the Barrier allows an unobstructed view of the gates coming majestically into their raised positions,

Thames Barrier gates rising

brilliant views of wading birds paddling through the mud at low tide - and of course, it's forever low tide when the Barrier is up.



Then as the main span gates are raised half a metre or so to their underspill position, the accumulated head of water from the downstream Thames roars under the lower lips of the gates through the narrow gap, scouring mud and gravel away from the gate seatings and causing the river to apparently boil in the turbulence.  It's very impressive stuff; it makes quite a noise, oxygenates the water and enables a feeding frenzy for the sea birds whirling and diving above it.

White water Thames

And all this is helped along by the hidden gem that is the Thames Barrier Park cafe.  Lovely staff, providing an endless supply of delicious tea and coffee at reasonable prices, meant that even Granny in her wheel chair was simultaneously fascinated by the hydraulic spectacle, proud of the British engineering skills that made it so and refreshed by the tea.

Book yourself a place for next year - mind you the lovely weather might have played a part in such an enjoyable time.

Three cheers for the Environment Agency and the Port of London Authority; not something I'd dreamed I'd ever be saying, but there it is.

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