Thames Beachcombing/Mudlarking
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
London, England
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
·
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Head off London's busy tourist trail to discover the unique activity of mudlarking (also known as beachcombing), and go hunting for washed-up objects on the foreshore of the River Thames. Your guide confirms the exact meeting point and time in advance, removing the hassle of working out the changing tides yourself. On arrival, receive gloves, a bag, and practical tips for spotting finds such as clay pipes, pottery fragments, and tiles. As you search, your guide is on-hand to help identify your discoveries and share the history behind them—adding insight you'd miss if exploring independently.
- Great for visitors interested in history, discovery, and hands-on fun
- Learn about the ins and outs of mudlarking from your guide
- Gain insight into what you find with the knowledge of your guide
- Plastic bags and gloves are provided for hygienic purposes
What's Included
- Local guide
- Gloves
- Plastic bags
- None
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- London, UK
Meeting points ×s are different each month.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:00 am
Itinerary
Discover the fun activity of mudlarking (beachcombing) for washed-up objects along the foreshore of the River Thames during low tide.
Your guide contacts you in advance to provide the location and time, which changes throughout the year based on low tides. Make your own way meeting location, where you're provided with gloves, a bag, and tips on what to look for.
Keep an eye out for washed-up treasures, which could include clay pipes, pottery fragments, tiles, and other objects. At the end, your guide helps you identify your finds and provides helpful historical context.
Your guide contacts you in advance to provide the location and time, which changes throughout the year based on low tides. Make your own way meeting location, where you're provided with gloves, a bag, and tips on what to look for.
Keep an eye out for washed-up treasures, which could include clay pipes, pottery fragments, tiles, and other objects. At the end, your guide helps you identify your finds and provides helpful historical context.
1
London
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Children under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult
- Dress code is wellington boots or hiking boots as foreshore is stony and can be muddy
- All tours take place in the morning.
- All tours take place in the morning, please email me (robert@thamesbeachcombing.com) in advance re when we start"
- Not recommended for travelers who are unsteady on their feet
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 118 reviews
Nico_V, Nov 2025
the guide was not very social and untill we got to the foreshore he barley spoke, he gave a oc health and safety talk and showed us some things to look for, then we were left to our own divices.
I did see him picking up litter a few times, I can't speek for other participants.
when we returned to show what we had found he only spoke to us breefly.
The section of river seemed to be well picked over and good finds were rear.
If I had to give a score I would give it a 3 or 4 out of 10.
Chantelle_G, Sept 2025
What a fantastic experience!! My Mum and I absolutely loved it from start to finish.
Robert was superbly knowledgeable and a joy to meet. We will 100% be doing this experience again. Can't recommend enough!!
Hillary_F, Sept 2025
We had such a blast beach combing on the Thames. Found some great historical artifacts. Lots of pipe bowls and stems. Boots are very handy as it’s nice to be able to explore all areas of the foreshore. The mud can get everywhere
Penny_K, Sept 2025
Easy mudlarking with knowledgeable guide. Plenty of time to explore the foreshore with wide banks. Good one to do with kids, although slim pickings. Lots of pipe stems and some pottery pieces and roof tiles pre fire of London. Nice to share and discuss finds afterwards. Meet point is under cover and a quick walk to the access point but should be aware of slippery access. Would recommend wellies for this foreshore as quite muddy. A good fun experience.
Elizabeth_T, Sept 2025
The foreshaw is muddy and the tide moves quickly but our guide was very knowledgable and fun! We collected a lot of cool things and it was fascinating to learn about things that had washed up.
Sherrianne_S, Jul 2025
We had a great experience, the kids loved it!
Robert was very friendly, approachable and knowledgeable about all items we found. It can be muddy so wear appropriate clothing and footwear.
Gary_P, Jun 2025
Great fun. Excellent organisation and communication. Highly recommended. Came away with some interesting finds
Tammy_G, Jun 2025
I booked this experience for a father's day present and it was amazing. Our guide, Robert, was very knowledgeable, gave us his time to tell us fun facts along the way. You find things as soon as you step onto the shore (I won't reveal what...that's for you to discover 😉). I honestly could not recommend this experience enough.
Anita_H, Oct 2024
Robert was a great host and super helpful when it came to identifying what I found. I had a lot of fun and would love to do it again!
Louise_F, Oct 2024
Robert was really knowledgable and approachable and we had a great morning looking for and finding treasure! thank you
Nancy_H, Aug 2024
Several days prior to this tour, I took a mudlarking tour with the Thames Trust on a site below the Millennium Bridge and found many and varied artifacts. The Viator tour which took us to a site below the Cannon Street area was basically denuded of anything worth looking at besides roof tiles. I realize that noone can predict what the tide brings in, but if there’s going to be a successful tour that participants enjoy, the venue needs to be changed. I will recommend mudlarking tours provided by the Thames Trust, but will NOT take a mudlarking tour with Viator again. I was very disappointed by this experience.
Amanda_P, Jul 2024
Quite a surreal experience… and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Could have spent all day rummaging for artefacts! Found a couple of tiles which pre-dated the Gt Fire of London. Met a lovely group of fellow larkers…and our guide was very knowledgeable. Well worth the money.
Katie_M, Jul 2024
Amazing experience, loved it - knowledgeable guide and hands-on learning about London’s past. We learned so much from Robert about the foreshore and the items to be found there.
Chris_T, Jun 2024
A great fun day beach combing on the banks of the Thames. Found pottery and roof tiles from before the great fire of London and an imprint of a past lives fingerprints when making a handle on a bowl. Amazing
Christian_K, Jun 2024
Extremely well-organised under the auspices of our extremely knowledgeable and helpful guide Robert. There's a wealth of history just waiting to be discovered (literally!) and even if you don't find your fortune, you're almost guaranteed to find a memorable keep-sake to remind you of the experience.
In summary, a GREAT experience and excellent value for money.
PamelaJune_D, Jun 2024
This outing made that 25hr flight all worth while. Even tho we looked like a largish group there was plenty of space for everyone to search unheeded. Robert's knowledge of our finds was SO helpful. I will do it again next trip. Hopefully on another stretch of the Thames to see what other amazing finds are waiting to be discovered.
Sam_S, May 2024
I found several interesting pieces that I brought home with me. The guide was very knowledgeable both in helping me identify things as I picked them up and sorting the interesting from the junk at the end to decide what to keep. Several of the others with us are regulars and quite knowledgeable as well
Tammi_O, May 2024
So much fun! Looking for pieces of history on the Thames, doesn't get better than that! Robert was very knowledgeable.
Emily_H, May 2024
Went with my husband and two kids, aged 5 and 8. We all had a great time. Our guide showed us some pictures of things we might find before we started so we knew what to look for. We had lots of time to look and even my 5 year old was engaged the whole time. Afterward the guide looked at everyone’s finds and told us all what we had found, how old it was etc. It was so interesting, not just to hear about our stuff but everyone else’s as well. Definitely one of the most fun things we’ve done in London. The only thing was the gloves were too big for my five year old. Not sure if it’s even possible to find smaller ones but if you are bringing a young child perhaps try to find your own gloves to bring. His kept falling off and it was quite annoying.
Lynn_B, May 2024
We had a brilliant day Mudlarking on the Thames, we found a few pieces of history, what a fabulous way to spend a sunny Sunday morning. Thank you.
Laura_W, Apr 2024
Really had fun beach combing on the Thames. Our guide was knowledgeable and helpful. We were able to spend a good amount of time searching for “treasures” and our guide was great at helping us know what we found.
Joanne_C, Aug 2023
Great morning on the foreshore. Will definitely book again. Great host (Robert) and a small ish group. If you don’t mind getting a bit muddy and finding treasure this is for you!
linda_h, Aug 2023
This was the best experience of my entire London trip! I highly recommend it to those who love to hunt for treasure!
Ian_M, Aug 2023
I took my 9 year old son mudlarking and he loved looking for and finding all the old bits of London, especialky the clay pipes. Our guide, Robert, was very helpful and knowledgeable. Will definitely do it again.
Wendy_Q, Jul 2023
nice and friendly,very informative. not rushed at all. very leisurely walk. everything provided gloves and bags.
shame we weren't taken right along to end .
brillant morning out.
Ottelien_H, Jul 2023
Lovely, almost meditative experience combing the Thames bank for treasures. Experienced guide provided detailed explanations for our finds. Perfect way to spend a Sunday morning!
Vikki_B, Jun 2023
Amazing experience. We all loved it. Fascinating. Robert was very knowledgeable. Lots of ‘treasures’ found!
Cynthia_C, Nov 2022
We had fun searching for bits of history on the foreshore of the Thames by Putney Bridge. Our guide was lacklustre and not very inspired but we got on with it and found some little treasures.
Ann_M, Sept 2022
We did this because my teens wanted to and I had way more fun than I expected! The guide kept in contact with us leading up to the tour and it was easy to find him the day of. The foreshore is rocky and not super muddy, but enough that we went home to clean up afterwards. The guide gave us some tips what to look for and at the end went though each person’s finds to help us understand what we had found. We would absolutely do it again if we had the chance.
LynnM_B, Jun 2022
Richard provided such amazing insight into all the finds. He is a tremendous guide and teacher. Our goal to mudlark on vacation was an amazing day spent at the edge of the Thames. A blast, and an adventure and a check on my bucket list.
From $47.86
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Thames Beachcombing/Mudlarking
118
2 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$47.86
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Attractions in London, England
- Royal Air Force Museum London Tours & Tickets
- Kensington Gardens Tours & Tickets
- Regent's Park Tours & Tickets
- Windsor Castle Tours & Tickets
- Kensington Palace Tours & Tickets
- Temple Church Tours & Tickets
- Lyric Theatre London Tours & Tickets
- Handel & Hendrix in London Tours & Tickets
- Westminster Abbey Tours & Tickets
- Battersea Power Station Tours & Tickets
- Moco Museum London Tours & Tickets
- Whitechapel Tours & Tickets
- Bond Street Tours & Tickets
- Old Spitalfields Market Tours & Tickets
- Paddington Station Tours & Tickets
- Piccadilly Circus Tours & Tickets
- Blackfriars Bridge Tours & Tickets
- Bomber Command Memorial Tours & Tickets
- Stamford Bridge Tours & Tickets