london riverboat services timetable

Explore London by boat

Enjoy comfortable seats, fantastic views and an onboard café bar

Take to the Thames and make travel time part of your London adventure! Departing major central piers every 10-20 minutes and connecting 20+ piers along the River Thames, Uber Boat by Thames Clippers (also known as London's River Bus) provides a fast and safe way to get around the capital. With step-free access, guaranteed seats when on board, open back-decks and onboard café bars, you’ll get the best views of London’s landmarks.

Travelling with your family? Children aged 4 and under travel for free on all our services and children between the ages of 5 and 15 receive a 50% discount on all fares. Children go free when you buy a Family Hop-on Hop-off ticket!

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See all the sights

Sail through London and see all the iconic sights including Big Ben, London Eye, The Shard, Tower Bridge and Greenwich.

Comfortable seats

Comfortable seats in climate controlled cabins or enjoy the fresh air on the outside back deck. 

Onboard café bar

A whole range of refreshments and snacks are available from the café bar from hot chocolate and coffee to beer and prosecco. 

Accessible travel

All our boats and piers are step-free and wheelchair accessible except for Cadogan, London Bridge City and Wandsworth Riverside Quarter piers

What can you see and do?

Spot iconic London sights from the river or hop on and hop off across our piers to visit top London landmarks and attractions.

Here are some ideas for you.

Need more inspiration? Check out our page ' Things to do in London '. 

How does it work?

The River Bus network is divided into zones, just like the tube. Our services operate in three zones: West, Central and East and the fare will depend on which zones you travel in. Your ticket must be valid for all the zones you travel through. For instance, if you are travelling between Tower and Greenwich piers you will need a Central and East ticket. 

With a Hop-on Hop-off ticket you can travel across All Zones. It's that easy!

Central Zone: All piers between Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf East Zone: All piers between Canary Wharf and Barking Riverside

Online price

We have different options available to pay for river travel so you can choose the most convenient for you. The table below gives you our online prices (up to 10% cheaper than buying at the pier) for our most common journeys.

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Book your ticket now

All-day unlimited travel across 20+ piers. Best ticket to explore London. Kids go free with a Family ticket.

Buy a single or return ticket if only travelling between two piers.

Joint tickets

Combine a trip on the river with a visit to St Paul's Cathedral, Painted Hall or a flight on the cable car for a Tik Tok moment!

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Times and Tides

The river trip from Westminster to Hampton Court is unique. At 35 kilometres (22 miles) one-way, it is the longest regular scheduled boat service available from London.

On a fiercely tidal river such as The Thames it is difficult and sometimes impossible to provide an exact time of departure and arrival. The latest sailings estimate departure and journey times based on current tides and conditions

It is worth listing here the factors taken into consideration when preparing the latest sailing timetable

• There are two tides a day on the Thames it takes approximately five hours to come in and little over seven hours to go out
• Each high tide occurs slightly more than twelve hours later than the next
• Near to the new and full moons (about every two weeks) we have spring tides when there is a rise and fall between low tide and high tide of up to 8m (26')
• Seven to eight days after spring tides we have neap tides where the difference between low water and high water is around 5m (16')
• Other factors such as wind in the estuary and land water from the hills, all have a bearing on the time and height of tide.

The most obvious way the tide affects vessels is direction. Traveling along with the tide ~upstream with the flood and downstream with the ebb, is more efficient than pushing against the ebb going up and the flood going down.

Approximate Journey Times

Westminster to Kew : 90 minutes each way* Westminster to Richmond : 2 hours each way* Westminster to Hampton Court : Three hours each way*

*Times are subject to tidal conditions

Richmond lock and footbridge is described as a half tide lock. In each arch of the footbridge there is a shutter known as a curtain.  Two hours after high water the curtains are lowered into the river, creating a barrier to maintain the level of water above this point.  While the curtains are in the lowered position , vessels are obliged to use the lock, and transit time will vary depending the tide. Two hours before the next high water the curtains are lifted, which allows vessels to navigate unimpeded through the bridge.

• Cockney Sparrow

The Cockney Sparrow was built in 1976 at Eel Pie Island. She is a two level boat with a deceptively large enclosed saloon and an open top deck. 

M.V Connaught was built by Salter Brothers of Oxford in 1911 & has been cruising between Westminster, Kew, Richmond & Hampton Court for over 100 years. Connaught regularly operates on our services & is also available for private charters.

• Princess Freda

Princess Freda was built in 1926 by T.C. Letcher on the Isle of Wight, and has been restored to a particularly high standard.

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• Uber Boat by Thames Clippers

Paying for river travel with Uber Boat by Thames Clippers couldn't be easier, we have different options available. Choose the most convenient for you.

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On select event nights, sail back into town after the show ends! Pre-book your ticket for a guaranteed seat on the Express or Request Post-Show services.

The Express service will depart promptly, 15 minutes after showdown, followed by the first Request service. Passengers will be boarded in the order they arrive at the pier. Pre-book your ticket before the event.

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Sightseeing At Its Best

Explore london with thames river sightseeing.

Make the most of your adventure! Join our local skippers and friendly team for an unforgettable Thames River cruise.

THAMES RIVER CRUISE TICKETS

Tickets & packages.

• Thames River Sightseeing Cruise Ticket

Westminster to Greenwich

Travel from Westminster to Greenwich and enjoy beautiful views over London’s famous landmarks with our River Thames Sightseeing cruise.

Westminster to Tower Bridge (Butler's Wharf Pier)

See the best of beautiful London from the waters on this  Thames River Sightseeing cruise, from Westminster to  Tower Bridge.

2 Day River Pass | Hop On Hop Off

Our 2-day hop-on and hop-off Thames River Sightseeing ticket is the best way to explore London from the water – with unlimited river travel over two consecutive days to enjoy at your own pace.

Tower Bridge (Butler's Wharf) to Westminster

Climb aboard our sightseeing cruise at Tower Bridge (Butler’s Wharf Pier) and head to Westminster.

THAMES RIVER SIGHTSEEING

Featured Attractions

There’s so much to see when you’re on your Thames River Sightseeing cruise that you’re bound to find at least one place you’ll want to visit. Explore iconic landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Shard, & more!

• Closest Pier: Bankside Pier

TOWER OF LONDON

• Closest Pier: Greenwich Pier

ROYAL OBSERVATORY

Shakespeare's globe, st. paul's cathedral.

• BEAUTIFUL VIEWS
• EXPERT CREW

Are you a group of 15 or more? Book now and get 15% off your tickets. Please select a cruise below and the discount will automatically be applied for group bookings of at least 15 people.

Select a cruise for your group and get 15% off your tickets when check out.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our common answer to your common questions. Didn’t see what you are looking for? Click the button below to read all our FAQs.

The Thames is a chock-a-block full of London landmarks, including the iconic Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and Cutty Sark, as well as modern attractions like the London Eye and the Shard. Rest assured your skipper will point out all the points of interest in an entertaining and informative commentary.

• Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment, London, SW1A 2JH
• Embankment Pier, Victoria Embankment, London, WC2N 6NU
• Festival Pier, Riverside Walk, London, SE1 9PX
• Bankside Pier, Bankside, London, SE1 9PD
• Tower Bridge Quay, St Katharine Docks, 50 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1LA
• Greenwich Pier, King William Walk, London, SE10 9HT

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Uber Boat by Thames Clippers

A partnership that brings together the simplicity and innovation of Uber with Thames Clippers' longstanding tradition of safe, reliable travel on the River Thames.*

Take a look at the Uber app to browse the many available routes from 24 piers across the capital.

Plain sailing

How Uber Boat by Thames Clippers works

Use the Uber app to book and pay for your trip, with 24 piers to choose from.

Make your way to your chosen pier and wait for the scheduled service to arrive.

Sit back and relax with a guaranteed seat on board and make your way to work.

Explore your new commute

Journeys start from £5.60 for an adult ticket.

Sail with Uber for Business

Helping your employees commute

If your company is already signed up for Uber for Business, your employees will automatically have access to Uber Boat by Thames Clippers. If not, it's quick and easy to register your business.

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Why wait? Start sailing to work with a guaranteed seat on board.

*Please note that all Uber Boat by Thames Clippers tickets are purchased from Collins River Enterprises Limited (trading as Thames Clippers), which is an independent third party. Thames Clippers provides the transportation service to which these ticket(s) relate. Tickets are subject to Thames Clippers Terms & Conditions . These terms tell you who Thames Clippers is, how they will provide the service to you, how they may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. Please take the time to carefully read and understand the Thames Clippers Terms & Conditions, before purchasing the ticket(s).

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Damian Lewis herds sheep over a London bridge as part of a quirky tradition

LONDON (AP) — Actor Damian Lewis drove a flock of sheep across the River Thames on Sunday in homage to a centuries-old tradition.

Lewis is among thousands of people granted the honorary title of Freeman of the City of London, which in medieval times came with the right to bring livestock across the river to market without paying tolls.

More than 1,000 freemen exercised that right on Sunday in the annual London Sheep Drive, many wearing black hats and red cloaks. Lewis wore his grandfather’s wool coat and carried a crook as he led the throng herding the animals over Southwark Bridge.

“It was fabulous,” said Lewis, star of “Band of Brothers,” “Homeland” and “Wolf Hall.”

Lewis was asked to represent the Worshipful Company of Woolmen, a trade guild dating back to the 12th century. He said he was pleased to be part of “this eccentric, very British day, honoring an old tradition.”

Manny Cohen, Master Woolman at the Worshipful Company of Woolmen, said the ancient sheep-driving tradition was revived about 15 years ago and has become a major charity fundraising event.

There are no plans to bring back other ancient freemen’s privileges such as the right to carry an unsheathed sword in public and to be escorted home if found drunk.

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New London-Thames River game suspended at halftime due to off-field fights

New London — Unruly fan behavior forced the suspension of Friday night’s football game between New London and Thames River at Cannamela Field.

There were a couple of incidents in or near the stands between fans in the first half, including a fight near the concession stand.

New London athletic director Phil Orbe decided to stop the home opener at halftime.

“There was some unruly behavior that came to a point where it was very difficult to control, so in the name of safety I made a decision to suspend the game at halftime,” Orbe said. “A lot of the stuff had nothing to do with the game on the field and had nothing to do with the two fan bases.

“It was more or less things that had happened outside the game that came to a head.”

Orbe praised the New London police for their efforts.

“They did everything we could ask,” Orbe said. “We had five officers here. Then they called a bunch of other patrols in, too. The police did a really good job. Our security team did a really good job. It just came to a point where for the safety of the players and the people in attendance we had to suspend the game.

“... I always err on the side of safety and caution, so it was the last measure. We did everything we could to continue the game, it just didn’t work.”

The game will be resumed on Monday at a time and site to be announced.

The two teams had come out of the locker room for the second half and remained on the field while fans headed to the parking lot.

“I don’t have all the information,” New London coach Bobby Sanchez said. “I know there were apparently a few fights in the stands that they deemed were threatening to officials and players coming back on the field. It’s a bummer because we were playing well.”

New London and Thames River both entered Friday’s action searching for the first win of the season. Mistakes piled up, as the Whalers and Crusaders combined for 16 penalties and three turnovers before halftime.

The Whalers fell behind 8-0 in the first quarter on Anthony Santacroce’s 23-yard scoring run and then lost a fumble on their first possession before finally finding some traction.

They scored 26 points in the second quarter to carry a 26-8 lead into the locker room.

Quarterback Jack Philistin connected with fellow senior Tyree Barnes for a 21-yard touchdown pass to jump-start the Whalers on the first play of the second quarter.

Barnes delivered another big play, returning a punt 42 yards for a touchdown for a 14-8 edge.

Next, Philistin threw a beautiful deep pass to sophomore Cayden Simonds Gaskin, who caught the ball in stride and finished off the 41-yard touchdown play. Philistin finished off a productive first half with a nine-yard touchdown run.

But the Whalers never got a chance to add to that total in the second half.

“We’ve seen nothing but adversity this entire time, starting off with Daniel Hand, the defending state champion, and then going to Windham, a scrappy bunch of players,” Sanchez said. “A lot of things didn’t go our way there. We talked about adversity.

“(Tonight), we gave up a score and fumbled on the first possession. Defensively, we want to be stronger. And we’ve been playing stronger now. So there’s definitely growth.”

‘’We’ll play anytime, anywhere,” Sanchez said “We talk about things you can control, worrying about things you can control, next play mentality. And this is exactly that right now. There’s always a lesson to be learned.”

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Maggie Smith, Grande Dame of Stage and Screen, Dies at 89

She earned an extraordinary array of awards, from Oscars to Emmys to a Tony, but she could still go almost everywhere unrecognized. Then came “Downton Abbey.”

As Violet Crawley, the acid-tongued dowager countess on “Downton Abbey,” Ms. Smith was the show’s breakout star from the beginning. Credit... Nick Briggs/PBS, via Associated Press

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By Anita Gates and Robert Berkvist

• Sept. 27, 2024

Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” to the acid-tongued dowager countess on “Downton Abbey,” died on Friday in London. She was 89.

Her death, in a hospital, was announced by her family in a statement issued by a publicist. It did not specify the cause of death.

American moviegoers barely knew Ms. Smith (now Dame Maggie to her countrymen) when she starred in “ The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie ” (1969), about a teacher at a girls’ school in the 1930s who dared to have provocative views — and a love life. Vincent Canby’s review in The New York Times described her performance as “a staggering amalgam of counterpointed moods, switches in voice levels and obliquely stated emotions, all of which are precisely right.” It brought her the Academy Award for best actress.

She won a second Oscar, for best supporting actress, for “California Suite” (1978), based on Neil Simon’s stage comedy. Her character, a British actress attending the Oscars with her bisexual husband (Michael Caine), has a disappointing evening at the ceremony and a bittersweet night in bed.

In real life, prizes had begun coming Ms. Smith’s way in 1962, when she won her first Evening Standard Theater Award. By the turn of the millennium, she had the two Oscars, a Tony, two Golden Globes, half a dozen BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Awards) and scores of nominations. Yet she could go almost anywhere unrecognized.

Until “ Downton Abbey .”

That series followed the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), his mostly aristocratic family and his troubled household staff at their grand Jacobean mansion as the world around them, between 1912 and 1925, refused to stand still.

A Breakout Star

After its premiere in Britain in 2010 and in the United States a year later, the show ran for six seasons. Its breakout star, from the beginning, was Ms. Smith, playing Lord Grantham’s elderly and still stubbornly Victorian widowed mother, Violet Crawley, the dowager countess. She disapproved of electric lights, was unfamiliar with the word “weekend” and never met a person or situation she couldn’t ridicule with withering imperiousness. When her daughter-in-law considered sending a younger relative for a stay in New York, Lady Grantham objected: “Oh, I don’t think things are quite that desperate.”

Suddenly, in her mid-70s, Ms. Smith was a megastar.

“It’s ridiculous. I’d led a perfectly normal life until ‘Downton Abbey,’” she told the arts journalist Mark Lawson at the B.F.I. and Radio Times Television Festival in 2017. She added later, “Nobody knew who the hell I was.”

The closest Ms. Smith had come to such visibility was with the Harry Potter movies. She was Minerva McGonagall, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s stern but fearless transfiguration teacher, in seven of the eight films, from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001) to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (2011).

McGonagall, wearing high-necked Victorian-style gowns, a distinctive Scottish brooch and upswept hair beneath a tall, black witch’s hat, was a striking onscreen presence. Yet Ms. Smith did not find herself constantly pursued in public, except by children.

“A lot of very small people kind of used to say hello to me, and that was nice,” she recalled on “ The Graham Norton Show ” in 2015. One boy carefully asked her, “Were you really a cat?”

Margaret Natalie Smith was born on Dec. 28, 1934, in Ilford, which was a town in Essex at the time and is now part of the borough of Redbridge in London. Her father, Nathaniel Smith, was a public-health pathologist, and her mother, Margaret (Hutton) Smith, was a secretary who was born in Scotland.

When Maggie was 5, the family moved to Oxford, where her father taught. After studying at the Oxford School for Girls, she joined the newly formed Oxford Playhouse and made her acting debut in 1952 in “Twelfth Night.”

Driven to Perform

The urge to act had always been there. “It’s not even that you particularly want to be an actor,” she once said. “You have to be. There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

Although Ms. Smith was in her early 20s when she appeared in her first movie (as a party guest in “Child in the House,” a 1956 drama) and made her London stage debut (in “Share My Lettuce,” a 1957 musical revue), it could reasonably be argued that she was never an ingénue.

Her early films included “ The V.I.P.s ” (1963), a Technicolor melodrama starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and “The Pumpkin Eater” (1964), a marital drama written by Harold Pinter and based on a novel by Penelope Mortimer. In the first, she was the mousy, adoring secretary of a handsome tycoon (Rod Taylor). In the second, she was Anne Bancroft’s weird houseguest who wouldn’t shut up — or leave. Both films were made before her 30th birthday, but both characters were, in their own ways, already world-weary.

In “The Honey Pot” (1967), a glamorous murder-mystery comedy starring Rex Harrison, she was Susan Hayward’s nurse-companion.

Ms. Smith was just 37 when she starred in “Travels With My Aunt” (1972), based on Graham Greene’s novel, playing Aunt Augusta, an amoral world traveler in her 70s. (Katharine Hepburn, 64 at the time, had been cast but dropped out because of a disagreement with producers.)

New York was never a significant factor in Ms. Smith’s career. After her Broadway debut, in the revue “New Faces of 1956,” she stayed away for almost two decades. Returning in 1975, she played the sophisticated Amanda Prynne in Noël Coward’s “Private Lives,” about a divorced couple who reconnect while honeymooning with their second spouses, then appeared in Tom Stoppard’s “Night and Day” (1979) as a mining magnate’s unhappy wife. She received Tony nominations for both roles.

In “Lettice and Lovage” (1990), Ms. Smith played a tour guide who makes up outrageous (and vastly entertaining) lies about the old houses she shows people through. Frank Rich paid tribute in his review for The Times: “Miss Smith’s personality so saturates everything around her that, like the character she plays, she instantly floods a world of gray with color,” he wrote. “This is idiosyncratic theater acting of a high and endangered order.”

That performance won her a Tony for best actress in a play. But Broadway was a blink of the eye compared with the British stage.

In the early 1960s, Ms. Smith starred opposite Laurence Olivier at the National Theater in “Othello,” as Desdemona, the devoted but doomed wife. (The 1965 movie version brought her the first of her six Oscar nominations.)

A British Stage Record

She won six Evening Standard awards (a record) for stage performances, beginning with “The Private Ear” and “The Public Eye” (1962), Peter Shaffer’s comedy double bill.

That was followed by the title role in “Hedda Gabler” (1970), the director Ingmar Bergman’s first production outside Scandinavia. In the 1980s, Ms. Smith won for Edna O’Brien’s “Virginia” (1981), in which she played the novelist Virginia Woolf, and for her role as the willful Millamant in “The Way of the World” (1984), William Congreve’s Restoration comedy about marriage and money.

In 1994, Ms. Smith won for playing the oldest of the title characters in Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” Paul Taylor’s review in The Independent described her as “the person who hardened into a monster because she has had the burden of being strong for everyone in the family.”

After a 25-year break, Ms. Smith won for “A German Life” (2019), in which she portrayed the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels’s longtime secretary.

“What Smith captures brilliantly,” Michael Billington, the critic for The Guardian , wrote, “is the way, in old age, vagueness of memory coexists with moments of piercing clarity.”

Ms. Smith spent four seasons at the Stratford Festival in Canada, taking on a rich assortment of roles, including Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth and — in “Richard III” — a 15th-century queen of England.

Yet it was the film industry that made her an international star.

She appeared in some mainstream American hits, including “Sister Act” (1992), as the mother superior trying to tame a nightclub singer (Whoopi Goldberg) hiding out at the convent, and “The First Wives Club” (1996), as a soignée Manhattan divorcée who sympathizes with younger women’s travails.

Cinematic Time Traveler

The rest of the time, Ms. Smith was something of a time traveler. “I’m always in corsets, and I’m always in wigs, and I’m always in those buttoned boots,” she told the film critic Barry Norman in a 1993 television interview. She added, “I can’t remember when I last appeared in modern dress.”

In turn-of-the-century films, she played a suspicious, overprotective chaperone accompanying a young woman to Florence in Italy in Merchant Ivory’s “A Room With a View” (1985); an unfeeling housekeeper at a Yorkshire mansion in “The Secret Garden” (1993); a dramatic New York auntie in “ Washington Square ” (1997); and a stylish Londoner who fancies the new priest (Michael Palin) in “The Missionary” (1982).

In “Quartet” (1981), Ms. Smith was an artsy British expatriate in 1920s Paris. (She would appear in an unrelated film of the same name in 2012, playing a retired opera diva.)

The 1930s must have felt like home. Both her Agatha Christie pictures, featuring the master detective Hercule Poirot, were set in that decade. In “Death on the Nile” (1978), she was the nurse-companion of a kleptomaniac (Bette Davis). In “Evil Under the Sun” (1982), she was a saucy Adriatic-island hotelier.

“ Murder by Death ” (1976), Neil Simon’s parody of Hollywood detectives, was set in a make-believe 1930s (the clothes and the cars) that somehow included informed references to television, World War II and Humphrey Bogart movies that hadn’t been made yet. Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Ms. Smith), like Nick and Nora Charles of “The Thin Man,” doted on a wire-haired fox terrier and multiple daily martinis.

Then there was Robert Altman’s “Gosford Park” (2001), set in a 1930s English-country-house weekend and written by Julian Fellowes (before he created “Downton Abbey”). Ms. Smith was a marcel-waved countess who, much like Violet Crawley, had a gift for lethal put-downs. When a visiting Hollywood producer pleasantly declines to reveal the ending of his next movie for fear of spoiling it for his dinner companions, the countess responds just as pleasantly, “Oh, but none of us will see it.”

In “ Tea With Mussolini ” (1999), Ms. Smith was part of an expatriate quintet having lovely lunches in Florence as Italy fell to Fascism. “A Private Function” (1984), a comedy with Mr. Palin, took place just after the war. “ The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne ” (1987), a drama about a shy spinster, was set in the 1950s.

Ms. Smith did wear modern dress in some films, like “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (2011) and its sequel, about British retirees in India; and “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” (2002), about a group of American Southerners who have been friends since childhood.

On the other hand, “Becoming Jane” (2007), about the young Jane Austen, was set in the 1790s. In a BBC version of “David Copperfield” (1999), Ms. Smith was Betsey Trotwood, a grouchy but loving Georgian-Regency great-aunt. (Daniel Radcliffe, age 10, played the title role.)

Although television was a relatively small part of her résumé, she won four Emmy Awards. Her first was for HBO’s “My House in Umbria” (2003), in which she played a romance novelist; the other three were for “Downton Abbey.”

Her final films included “The Lady in the Van” (2015), in which she played a strong-willed homeless woman; “A Boy Called Christmas” (2021); “Downton Abbey: A New Era” (2022), the second of two “Downton Abbey” films, which introduced the Granthams to both Hollywood and the French Riviera; and “The Miracle Club” (2023), a comedy with Laura Linney and Kathy Bates.

In 1967, Ms. Smith married Robert Stephens, a British actor who was her frequent co-star, beginning with “Jean Brodie.” They divorced in 1974. In 1975, she married Beverley Cross , the playwright and screenwriter. He died in 1998.

She is survived by two sons from her first marriage, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens , both actors; and five grandchildren, according to the family’s statement.

Ms. Smith developed Graves’ disease, an immune-system condition that affects the thyroid gland, in 1988 but recovered after radiotherapy and surgery. Two decades later, she fought off breast cancer.

She became a Commander of the British Empire in 1969, a dame in 1990 and a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor in 2014.

Ms. Smith disliked watching her own performances. As recently as 2020, she said she had still never seen an episode of “Downton Abbey” — “It got to the point where it was too late to catch up” — not to mention the feature films the series inspired.

Behind the quick wit, though, lay the heart of an introvert. On the CBS News program “60 Minutes” in 2013, when it was suggested that she had no interest in celebrity, Ms. Smith said: “Absolutely none. I mean, why would I?”

She had long described herself as painfully shy. Much earlier, in a 1 979 interview with The Times , she confessed, “I’m always very relieved to be somebody else, because I’m not sure at all who I am or what indeed my personality is.”

In the 2018 documentary “ Tea With the Dames ,” an interviewer asked Ms. Smith if the first days on a movie set were still scary for her.

“All days are scary,” she said.

Robert Berkvist , a former New York Times arts editor, died in 2023.

An earlier version of this obituary misstated the number of Tony Awards Ms. Smith won. It was one, not two. It also misstated the given name of the character she played in the movie “Murder by Death.” She was Dora Charleston, not Nora. And an earlier version of a picture caption with this obituary misstated the year of the movie “A Room With a View.” As the obituary correctly notes, it was 1985, not 1968.

An earlier version of this obituary misstated at one point when Ms. Smith won her first Evening Standard Theater Award. As correctly noted elsewhere, it was 1962, not “in the 1950s." The earlier version also misstated how many seasons Ms. Smith spent at the Stratford Festival in Canada. It was four, not three. And it misstated how old Katharine Hepburn was when she was replaced by Ms. Smith in the lead role of the movie “Travels With My Aunt.” She was 64, not 68.

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Travel across London by river

Take to the Thames and discover a new way to move through the capital by boat.

Uber Boat by Thames Clippers stops at 24 piers along the Thames between Barking Riverside Pier in the East and Putney Pier in the West. Services run from early in the morning until late at night 7 days a week.

Like the tube, the river is divided into zones: West, Central and East. Your ticket must be valid for all the zones you travel through. For instance, if you are travelling between Embankment and North Greenwich piers you will need a Central and East ticket.

All our boats and piers are wheelchair and pram accessible except for Cadogan, London Bridge City and Wandsworth Riverside Quarter piers. You can even bring your bike on board at no extra cost.

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River Guide

Discover everything London has to offer with our River Guide. From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, our free interactive map will help you plan the perfect adventure across the capital.

Start exploring

Fast and convenient

Avoid the rush-hour hassle and take to the river. Make time yours! With a guaranteed seat and personal space, what are you going to do with your time? Catch up on emails, call a friend or read a book? Perhaps just enjoy the views?

RB1, our main route, operates from early in the morning until late at night 7 days a week across the Central and East Zones. The RB1 stops at piers between Battersea Power Station or London Eye (Waterloo) and Barking Riverside (depending on time of the day) allowing you to easily travel across London and enjoy the capital’s landmarks such as Westminster, The London Eye, Tower or Greenwich.

Please check the timetable before travelling.

On weekends, RB2 operates across all our zones (West, Central and East) stopping at main piers between Putney and North Greenwich via Battersea Power Station. Our RB2 service connects Tate Britain at Millbank Pier and Tate Modern at Bankside Pier, the easiest way to travel Tate to Tate.

The RB4 Canary Wharf to Doubletree Docklands ferry service provides regular river crossings between Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe 7 days a week.

RB5 operates on weekdays during off-peak hours, calling at North Greenwich, Royal Wharf, Woolwich (Royal Arsenal), and Barking Riverside piers once an hour in both directions.

The RB6 operates weekdays during morning and evening peak times between Putney and Canary Wharf piers located in the West and Central Zones of our route. During the off-peak daytime the service operates hourly between Putney and Royal Wharf in the East Zone.

RB6 regularly calls at Embankment, Blackfriars and London Bridge City piers but does not always stop at all piers along its route. Please check the timetable before travelling.

Useful links

Ticket information, accessibility, book tickets, latest service updates.

For the most up to date information on our services please follow   @thamesclippers on X (formerly known as Twitter). You can also find live departure information at the piers or on the Thames Clippers Tickets app.