Duck Tours

Tours through London and out onto the Thames are available to the general public, starting and finishing close to the London Eye (and therefore Waterloo station). However, it is also possible to book a whole Duck for a private party so if you can interest 30 people you get the whole vehicle to yourself and save on the normal charges of £18.00 adult and £12.00 child. We paid £350 in 2006, so under £12.00 a head.

We did our tour as part of a three element day so asked if we could be dropped off on our way back (in our case at Lambeth Palace) which caused quite a stir! The Ducks are ex 2nd World War amphibious transports, fully updated and painted bright yellow. There's a fantastic view as you're so high up, and whilst on the road it's technically a bus, so can use the bus lanes and avoid the worst of the traffic. Duck on the waterWhen you get to Vauxhall (next to MI6) the bus driver changes over for a captain and the Duck drives down a steep slope straight into the river. The freeboard (the gap between the water and the top of the sides) isn't much, so you can actually touch the river - but it's not allowed! Weighing 6 tons the Duck doesn't bob up and down like a boat though, but rather goes through the water rather than on top of it.

Our guide was very friendly and had a good rapport with the Brownies, telling them interesting stories along the way and, as he said himself, "missing out the boring bits."

Not too cheap but the 75 minute journey is not to be missed in the opinion of all our Brownies, and none felt in the slightest bit seasick. Contact the booking office on 020 7928 3132, email enquiries@londonducktours.co.uk or have a look at their website

Webmaster - March 2007

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