The Thames Flood Barrier - Charlton, London
Thames Barrier Main Site
More info about Thames Barrier
Duration: about 6 hours
Located on the Thames estuary east of London, the Barrier consists of ten rotating semi-cylindrical gates, which are stored on the river bed but can be swung up into a vertical position to stop flood waters from reaching the capital. The area at risk from flooding is home to over a million residents and workers, 500,000 properties, 38 Underground and DLR stations, City Airport, and many areas recognised for their ecological importance. The Barrier was finished in 1984, and is an awesome feat of engineering. There is also a “physics connection” – in 1966, the physicist Hermann Bondi (one of the originators of the Steady State Theory of the Universe) was brought in as an “independent consultant” to assess what needed to be done about the flood threat to London, and recommended that the Barrier be built.
We will be given a talk, followed by a behind-the-scenes tour in which we will descend below the river bed and out onto one of the concrete piers in the middle of the river. (Please note, if the Barrier is in use we won’t be allowed to enter it, but that is unlikely in August).