Have you tried the Woolwich ferry? It's free and I once enjoyed the experience after years of using the Dartford crossing and the Blackwall tunnel.

One of my standard "Undiscovered London" excursions, free river "cruise" stylee, when I'm being an amateur guide

Watch the planes doing STOL at City Airport

There is (or was) also a rather spooky pedestrian tunnel under the river there, counterpart of the one at Greenwich, but much less used.

We use this crossing on occasions to visit relatives. It is vital to check traffic reports regularly, once there is a problem it seldom recovers.

First time in many years that I attempted this truly dreadful crossing in such a grim location .An hour to move 2 miles. Never again ever. Avoid avoid avoid. God help anyone obliged to use this living hell on a regular basis.

Have been through it once and all was fine.

I used to use it every day and was always unpredictable but just as bad as trying the bridges which get as conjested, though its typical London jams everywhere

Very rare to get a clear run unless your lucky !

The tunnel is a bottle neck. It is down to poor road planning. They could reduce pressure on Blackwall Tunnel if the Dartford Crossing was free. The cost is £2.

Its down to the traffic when it was built, there wasn`t the traffic then to worry about and who wants to go all the way round the M25 to east London?, thats why Black wall tunnel is used as much as it is, some live either side of the River and don`t want to travel all the way round

as for radio signal you can get a signal up to I think the air vents in the tunnel and in between you lose it, many comments about that over the years, but not been through it for a few years so its possible they may have installed signal boosters in that time, though its doubtful ?, someone else may know better ?

But yes it is a bottle neck, and often isn`t helped by i****s speeding through it and cutting people up because they almost missed the first exit and some crashing!

Currently, being retired I try to avoid driving anywhere within the M25

A bit off topic, but having been at school not far north of London, when looking to return from Canada to the UK in the mid-60s I said I would not settle within 50 miles of London because of growing congestion. It's a decision I never regretted, having settled in Cheshire, and by about 1990 I remember saying I would raise the threshold to 100 miles.

Congestion can be triggered very easily these days. Just last week I drove about 4 miles to get a Covid booster, noting that several roads were backed up solid in the opposite direction because the M56 was reduced to one lane for 'emergency repairs'. The return journey took an hour and three quarters, so in my younger days it would have been quicker to walk.

And having looked at the satellite image, I now know what the mini cooling tower next to the DLR is. Thanks.

Edited by Brit_in_Germany on 17/04/2022 at 20:00

I wish those involved would get on and fix Hammersmith bridge. I was driving that way yesterday and had to go through Barnes. Surely an embarrassment that this is taking so long?

Or intentional to keep as many motorists away as possible?

No great surprise the Blackwall Tunnel fails to meet aspirations.

The first was opened in 1897 when Horsh was the principal problem. It is curved as apparently the horse would tend to bolt if they saw a spot of light in the distance.

The second tunnel to take southbound traffic was opened in 1967.

Based on the current thinking of those who set speed limits probably a rat run with a 20 mph speed limit and cameras to raise revenue to pay for it all.

No wonder the UK is such a mess, takes a lifetime to build a road & tunnel at a cost only the highly over taxed taxpayer can afford. Polite language prevents the appropriate next sentence.