The squeezed working river

The working Thames, as described in the previously reviewed book The Men of the Tideway, is still visible, but is getting increasingly squeezed.

Take the barge above, unloading sand by Wandsworth Bridge. It's surrounded by new developments and the local favourite, The Ship. This pub was founded as a Thameside Waterman’s Inn in 1786, but I doubt there are many watermen to be found inside.

I wonder how long these small scale sites can survive the demand for land for new apartments.

Just upriver there are stacks of barges and tugs coming and going all day long.

The more fancy new developments they build, the more they will create rubbish.

So this site, which sorts and packs waste into containers to be shipped downriver, will no doubt be busy for many years to come.