Welcome to Thamesreach!
Thamesreach (London) is often a holiday destination/thoroughfare for Society members, and we would love to meet you.
We gained full status in January 1999, and currently have about 40 active members. Our resources are modest, but we hope we can make you feel welcome in this part of the Known World.
The main interests in the Shire are Making Stuff ™ – cooking & brewing, embroidery & clothing, illumination & calligraphy – and Doing Stuff Together – armoured combat, fencing, occasional archery, dancing and singing.
We have weekly fight practice, weekly singing practice, regular craft afternoons, and mostly-monthly local revels. We host 1 or 2 events a year, and regularly attend revels and events in the neighbouring shires in southern and eastern England and in Wales.
These pages give you some pointers about places to see, things to avoid, etc.
If you have any other enquiries, please contact our Seneschal or Castellan and we will be happy to help you.
Accommodation
Crash space
We are a small group, so crash space is limited. Most of us who live in London are in small flats (apartments); great locations, but short on spare bedrooms!
You’re welcome to get in touch in advance, and ask if anyone can put you up – we’ll make quite an effort, but we make no promises. At the very least, drop us a line, and we’ll try and help. It never hurts to ask!
Join the Thamesreach Facebook Group or contact our Castellan.
B&Bs, Hotels, Hostels and Campsites
Sorry, but we don’t have any personal recommendations at the moment, but booking.com or airbnb offer thousands of options for all budgets.
If you have been a visitor to Thamesreach, we’d love to hear your recommendations.
Crime
We know this makes us sound like your parents, but… keep your possessions safely with you at all times; not just to keep them from being stolen, but to keep them for being mistaken for a bomb.
Never leave your handbag open or put your wallet in an unsecured coat or back pocket. Pickpockets are a problem in busy Tube stations and the popular city areas such as Leicester Square, Charing Cross, Oxford Circus, etc. Museums are also good grazing grounds for thieves, especially in the cafés. Please be aware of this! We would hate you to have your holiday ruined by a missing wallet or camera.
You will see many warnings in airports, train and Tube stations, and in public centres about leaving your bag untended. Please take them seriously. The police and security staff will treat your unclaimed bag as a potential bomb threat.
999 is the British emergency number for the Police, Fire and Ambulance services.
Weather
England is temperate and changeable, with warm spells in summer. July and August occasionally see humid temperatures of 26 – 30oC (79 – 86oF). It is often overcast and grey in the southeast, but the sunny days are truly glorious. Winters are mild – it doesn’t often drop below 0oC (32oF) in London – but the ‘English damp’ cold is quite penetrating.
The best way to cope with English weather is to bring layers. Bringing (or buying here) a small collapsible umbrella is also a good idea.
Sherlock Holmes-era ‘London fog’ is thankfully a thing of the past; it was actually smog, created by soot from coal-burning fires in humid conditions, and has disappeared.
We honestly can’t tell you what the weather will be like during your stay, because we don’t know ourselves!
Here’s the official Met office site, so you can check for yourself.
Temperature Conversion (approx.)
| Farenheit | 32 | 41 | 59 | 68 | 86 | 104 |
| Centigrade | 0 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
Useful Stuff
Emergency – 999
Directory Inquiries – 192
London Transport Enquires – 020 7222 1234
National Rail Enquiries – 08 45 48 49 50
Distances to other towns from London (miles)
| Aberdeen | Birmingham | Bristol | Cardiff | Derby | Dover | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Inverness |
| 492 | 111 | 114 | 150 | 123 | 74 | 372 | 389 | 529 |
| Leeds | Liverpool | Manchester | Norwich | Nottingham | Oxford | Portsmouth | Southampton | York |
| 191 | 198 | 184 | 112 | 123 | 56 | 71 | 77 | 194 |
Useful Visitors’ Links
These are all offsite links.
Time Out – London’s comprehensive listings magazine. Theatre, cinema, music, eating out and events in the London area.
This Is London – guide to London produced by the Evening Standard newspaper.
The British Monarchy Official Website – just what it says. Info on the royal family, palaces and exhibitions.
London Tourist Board – the official tourist guide to London.