The Thames Barge Driving Race under oars' or "sweeps" and ride tidal river currents alone, up river. The event commemorates the skills of lightermen who moved freight this way along the Thames up until the 1930s and in a wider context it encourages ongoing interest in moving cargo via water and as a way to recruit younger people back into river trades.The teams are normally made up of employees of Thames Lighterage companies, Port of London Authority or are sponsored by local businesses. The best places to view the race are Tower Bridge, London Bridge and Westminster Bridge. During the 1970s Britain suffered a major
Walton Bridge Walton Bridge Walton Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England, carrying the A244 between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton, crossing the Thames on the reach between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock. The bridge is the first Thames road bridge which is on both banks upstream of Greater London. The bridge is the sixth on the site. Before the first bridge, the site had a ferry dating at least to the 17th century. Near Walton Bridge, and removed when the first bridge was built in 1750, were several barrows. Spear heads and earthenware vessels are said by J. Douglas