For as long as I lived and worked in London, I had never really seen much of the Thames Barrier. I had seen it from as distance and even gone through it on a boat when at a party but I hadn’t really ever got a good look at it. For those that don’t know, the barrier was built to protect London from flooding following some very destructive floods in the 50s. Construction started in the 70s (we Brits know how to get things done fast) and finished in the 80s. The barrier is the most obvious part of the construction but it also involved building up the banks along the river downstream where the water level would be raised when the barrier was closed.
There are multiple piers across the river with a rotating panel between each. These panels normally lie on the bed of the river but they can be rotated up to block the flow between the piers. I understand that, when the barrier is closed, they actually slightly over raise the panels to allow some flow under them to moderate the increase in levels.
The good news while I was there was that one panel was raised and another was rotated right out of the water allowing me to get a good look at the design. Each pier is clad in a stainless steel surface which is quite striking and makes the barrier very recognizable to people. Looking down the river towards the barrier, you can appreciate the width that it covered. When close to it, you can compress the perspective and make all of the piers look really close together. With the sun out, the piers were shining nicely. I sat and ate my lunch on the banks of the river by the barrier and watched the river traffic coming and going for a while. One other person was there. It was a most tranquil spot to take a break.
