London Waterways

1. Kingston to Battersea

The oldest of only three royal boroughs in England, Kingston upon Thames has always held an important position on the river. Today, it boasts almost three miles of one of the most attractive stretches of the river. Next is Richmond, a "very rich mound" on a hill rising up from the Thames. Continue to Kew, which is round a bend in the river to nearby Battersea. Almost half of the district is open land here. A little further downriver is Putney, lined with lovely high-ceilinged pubs, serving the denizens of the local boating clubs and offering prime views for the annual spring Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Battersea Park - London's second most popular movie location - is the largest park in Wandsworth filled with fountains, ponds and boating lakes and has a beautiful riverside peace pagoda.

2. Chiswick to Westminster Bridge

Chiswick Bridge achieves a fleeting fame each spring as a crowded viewing place for the finish of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Once you've passed the cosy riverside pubs along Upper Mall look out for Hammersmith Bridge. The river heads south here as you pass some of Fulham's smarter Victorian residential streets, as well as the home of Fulham FC, Craven Cottage. After Putney Bridge the architecture leaps with ever larger steps towards the 21t century. The redevelopment of Wandsworth and Battersea has led to heliports and apartment blocks dotting the river like glassy UFOs. Cheyne Walk, one of London's premier addresses and once home to writers such as Henry James and TS Eliot runs behind Albert Bridge. From here Westminster begins to peek around the curve of the river from where the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben make a reassuringly familiar but perpetually striking sight.

3. Embankment to Tower Bridge

Like so much civic architecture and engineering in London the Embankment is the work of Sir Joseph Bazelgette. It was built between 1864 and 1870 as part of a bigger land reclamation project that included the construction of sewers and the District Line. Running up a gentle incline from Embankment tube station is Villiers Street, an atmospheric cut-through connecting the river with the Strand. The Embankment hugs the Thames as it curves eastwards, downriver towards the City. The City of London is the capital's historic centre and its western boundary is marked on the Embankment by a pair of griffin statues. London Bridge has had several incarnations since the first stone bridge was completed in 1209. Between here and Tower Bridge stands the old Billingsgate fish market. The fish trade moved east to the Isle of Dogs in 1982 and today the building is used for events.

4. The South Bank

Beyond Westminster Bridge is the tourist friendly South Bank. Once home to Ken Livingstone's GLC, County Hall now houses Dali Universe, Europe's largest collection of work by the Spanish surrealist, and the London Aquarium which boasts million-litre tanks and come-and-watch shark-feeding sessions. Hit Jubilee Gardens though and everyone is gazing at one thing - the London Eye. The Royal Festival Hall, the only construction still remaining from 1951's Festival of Britain is part of the imposing South Bank arts complex which also comprises the Hayward Gallery, National Theatre and National Film Theatre. Waterloo Bridge was demolished in 1936 and subsequently rebuilt. Pass ITV's London Television Centre and you'll arrive at Gabriel's Wharf, a hub of cafes and craft stalls. Blackfriars Bridge marks the place where criminals used to board ships to be transported to Virginia. Originally named William Pitt Bridge, it was renamed Blackfriars after the nearby monastery.

5. Bankside and Borough

Whether you are checking out the fantastic collection of art at Tate Modern, crossing the Millennium Bridge or admiring the view of the river, it's easy to forget that Bankside used to be among the most insalubrious stretches of the River Thames. As early as the Middle Ages, the area acquired a reputation as a centre for vice and vulgarity that lasted until well into the 17th century. Adjacent to Southwark Cathedral, heading a little away from the river, lies the Borough, the main artery of which is Borough High Street. Borough Market, which lies between the High Street and the river, is the oldest fruit and vegetable market in London.

6. Tower Bridge to Docklands

Tower Bridge is one of London's most familiar and impressive sights. It was the first bridge to be built east of London Bridge, and by the time of its completion in 1894 it was desperately needed. Immediately east of Tower Bridge is St Katherine Dock - now a plush and beautifully preserved residential and leisure area. After this the riverside continue to combine modern luxury with historic eccentricity as the river dips then curves north again along Wapping High Street and Wapping Wall, then looping around the Isle of Dogs to Limehouse. It was here that gamblers and opium smokers, including Oscar Wilde's fictional Dorian Gray, scuttled along the damp cobbles in the late 19th century. On a sunny day it's hard to believe that Canary Wharf is in the same country as Limehouse, let alone adjacent. With the yachts bobbing in the sparkling marinas this is very much the London of a generation of postwar imaginations. This sci-fi theme continues as the nine futuristic metal domes of the Thames Barrier loom in to view at Silvertown, originally an area developed merely to service the rubber and telegraph works of Mr SW Silver, and now a district undergoing huge and impressive redevelopment.

7. Tower Bridge to Rotherhithe

Just beyond Tower Bridge is Shad Thames, a pretty, affluent stretch that was extensively redeveloped in the 1980s. The river is very deep at this point, which means that you're in with a chance of seeing bigger ships, even cruise liners, stopping here. Just after the Design Museum you'll find St Saviour's Dock, indicating that we're now well into historical Bermondsey. Walk a little further however and you'll come to Cherry Garden Pier, a vestige of Bermondsey's days as a pleasure garden. Rotherhithe is the spot where the "Mayflower" embarked on its voyage to Virginia in 1620; the ship's captain Christopher Jones, lived here and is buried here.

8. Deptford to Greenwich

Regeneration has brought big changes to Deptford, the most noticeable being the Laban Centre for Contemporary Dance, which sits proudly on the banks of Deptford Creek. Greenwich has preserved its maritime past and this is reflected in the splendour of the Old Royal Naval College, the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum, which occupies a gorgeous Palladian villa built by Inigo Jones. A little way downriver from the Naval College is the Trafalgar Tavern giving excellent views of the Millennium Dome. East of the peninsula the widening river encounters a substantial obstacle spanning the 520 metres between Silvertown on the north bank and Woolwich on the south - the Thames Barrier.

9. Rivers

The Brent is a Thames tributary which is canalised in its lower reaches as part of the Grand Union Canal. It flows out of Brent Reservoir also known as the Welsh Harp, near the beginning of the M1.

The Lee runs from the Thames to Hertford and has been canalised in stages since the first millennium. The Danes took advantage of the Lee navigation to move a large fleet twenty miles north of London and establish a base in 894.

The Wandle flows from its sources at Waldon Ponds in Croydon and at Carshalton Ponds to the Thames at Wandsworth. The Wandle was used by the Romans for transport and was heavily industrialised in the 17th and 18th centuries, the main industries being tobacco and textiles. At the turn of the 19th century it had 40 working water mills along its banks, one of which was owned by William Morris.

10. Canals and Waterways

Regent's Canal was constructed between 1812 and 1820 by Irish, Welsh and Scots navvies. Although it is accessible to all - many take the pleasant stroll from Camden to Little Venice - its secrets are best known by those who live aboard the narrow boats that line the towpath.

Grand Union Canal is the motorway of the canal network, the longest and widest single canal in Britain. An amalgamation of three historic canals, it joins the Thames at Brentford and snakes through 137 miles and 166 locks to Birmingham, while another branch flows through Leicester and joins the Soar and Trent.