This weekend has been the final days of the Tall Ships Festival, with the fleet in the tidal Thames. They have been moored at Woolwich, O2 arena and Greenwich. Many have been open to visitors and others have been running trips from Woolwich up to Tower Bridge and back. Your roving reporter walked from Woolwich up to the City today.

The Thames has been at its best with full spring tides around lunchtime, light winds and plenty of sunshine. The fleet leaves on Tuesday afternoon, and can been seen from the Kent or Essex coasts. Monday would have been a fine day to take a narrow boat down the tideway to the Barrier and back.

The ships are not the largest, as the bigger ones cannot get under the QE Bridge (M25). The last visit of the fleet was 25 years ago, before the bridge was complete.

Passing through the Thames Barrier

Russian ship at Greenwich