Kayaking London

As I visit family in London once a year, I am always looking for something off the beaten path to do. I have only visited London twice during the summer in the past decade and know how beautiful the city can be during this season and how activities can be limited in the winter months.
I was lucky to stumble upon this ongoing activity of having a guided kayak tour of the Thames and jumped on it as soon as I could. I was not apprehensive, but really did not know what to expect. I was in store for something fun, informative, and active.
Harry Whelan was our charming and funny host for the tour. Even before we got there Harry helped me through scheduling online to organize my tour. When we arrived he helped us by providing clothing less… touristy. During the tour he gave us an education about everything we were looking at on the river. He took pictures for us and later provided them for us via the web.
The overall experience was great! I would recommend it to anyone. We did the Big Ben and back tour which took just over two hours. The kayaks themselves were extremely stable and I think anyone with paddling power could do it. Seeing the world from this angle was extremely different and intriguing. Seeing structures and landmarks that I had seen many times before with a new set of eyes.
What was even more gratifying was finding out that this tourist attraction is something like a non profit. The money we paid (very inexpensive) went back into the costs of the program, as well as into teaching kids to kayak. We had one of those kids with us as we took our tour.
Other than me having a Zoolander moment (I couldn’t turn left) :D The whole experience was flawless!
I will be back next year for the four hour tour… and I’m bringing more friends!
DT!