Celebrating its fifth anniversary in London the floating show will be hosting a special day of sailings on July 19, 2025, including an appearance by Horrible Histories author Terry Deary
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London’s historical river tours with Horrible Histories: Terrible Thames are set to return from July 12, 2025.
The floating show, which takes in the capital’s riverside sights while showering audiences in horrifying, funny and shocking tales of days gone by is also celebrating its fifth year on the waterway.
To mark that anniversary, passengers are being invited to book sailings on a special day of celebration on July 19, 2025, where they will meet royals and reprobates.
The likes of Queen Boudica, King Henry VIII, Queen Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Captain Kidd, Olaf The Viking and Julius Caesar are expected to be lurking near the tour’s point of embarkation – Tower Bridge Quay – during the event.
Also visiting on the day to meet fans will be Terry Deary, author of Horrible Histories, the series of gore-soaked books that not only sparked a passion for the past in the minds of countless youngsters, but also inspired the Terrible Thames theatrical tour.
The show itself is performed on the top deck of Silver Sockeye, a ship in Woods Silver Fleet, which takes a 45-minute route right through central London beginning and ending just east of Tower Bridge.
Audiences can expect to see Cleopatra’s Needle, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Houses Of Parliament, the London Eye and dive into the stories of Execution Dock, Jack The Ripper and the bloody goings on at the Tower Of London amid a multitude of harrowing tales.
Passengers are guided in their journey by a teacher and pupil on a trip to the capital awarded as a prize for excellence in history – but quite who is schooling who becomes a matter for debate.
Unique on the Thames, the show changes with the tide, which alters the time taken to sail up and down the river for each performance, meaning the actors have to constantly adapt the tour to suit the progress made.
It is performed by members of the Birmingham Stage Company, known for its adaptations of Deary’s works including The Best Of Barmy Britain, returning to the Apollo theatre this summer.
your chance to win
>> For a chance to win a family ticket (one adult and three children or two adults and two children) to see the show this summer simply answer this question: Who wrote Horrible Histories?
To enter email your answer to info@wharf-life.com with the subject line Terrible Thames Competition.
>> Prize is tickets only, subject to availability. Transport to Tower Bridge Quay is at the prize winner’s expense.
There is no cash alternative. Entrants agree to have their data shared with Terrible Thames.
The closing date is July 23, 2025 and the editor’s decision is final.
key details: Horrible Histories: Terrible Thames
Horrible Histories: Terrible Thames is taking bookings from July 12 for daily sailings until September 3.
Adult tickets cost £25 while children aged 3-15 cost £15 each. Family tickets cost £70 with two adults and two children or £60 for one adult and three children.
Those aged 65 or over can sail for £20.
Find out more about the tours here
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