Great Stink Guided Tour

How to grow the best tomatoes

 

Two thousand years ago the Romans enjoyed indoor plumbing but until a couple of hundred years ago Londoners were still emptying their chamber pots out of the window.  At the Great Exhibition of 1851 the new flush loo was a big hit.  There was however a bigger problem.   You could now flush the waste from your house but without a sewage removal and treatment infrastructure the waste ended up in London's rivers.

 

During the hot summer of 1858 the amount of human waste being flushed directly into the River Thames became a national scandal and was known as The Great Stink.

 

We begin our day in Central London tracking London’s lost rivers, cruise the Thames to Greenwich and drive across to the old  Crossness Engines.

 

We meet our Blue Badge Tour Guide at 10.30am in the City for morning coffee (included).

 

We tell the story of spending a penny from Roman times to the coming of the flush loo.   We trace London’s lost rivers, tell the story of The Great Stink and show you how Victorian engineer Sir Joseph’s Bazalgette achieved one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering ever seen.   

 

Bazalgette stopped London’s waste running into the Thames by building massive intercepting sewers beneath new Embankments created by pushing back the mighty Thames behind stone walls.

 

On Bazalgette’s Victoria Embankment, we board a Thames Pleasure Cruiser to Greenwich.   You must bring packed lunches today to eat during the cruise.

 

From Greenwich our coach whisks you further east past Woolwich to the Thames Marshes and the Cathedral of Sewage.

 

Here you will discover some of our most spectacular ornamental Victorian cast ironwork and possibly the world’s largest surviving beam engines.   There’s a museum and a social story here too – the workers lived on site in terraced cottages built right above the massive sewage storage tank.   Mesh at the windows kept the flies at bay.   It must have stunk to high Heaven but my goodness they grew good tomatoes!

 

A most unusual day comes to a conclusion with tea and biscuits at Crossness included in the tour fee before heading home at 4.30pm.

 

Free Car Parking is available at our Depot when you book Arlesey Pick Up (Advance Booking is required)

 

OUR TOP TIPS

 

Sit on the left-hand side for the best views

• Much of the riverside and Parliament related story telling happens on the left side of the coach, giving clearer views of the Thames, Embankment, and key landmarks.

• For photography, left side seats often get the best angles.

 

Bring a camera — the route includes iconic London views

• The tour passes the Palace of Westminster, the Thames, and several historic engineering sites.

 

Bring a camera — the interior of Crossness Pumping Station is spectacular

The Octagon, castiron columns, painted Victorian detailing, and the massive beam engines are visually stunning. Many visitors describe it as “the Cathedral of Sewage” for good reason.

 

Use the onsite café and facilities

The Ness Café serves drinks and snacks, and there’s a gift shop. Toilets are available on site.