On 13/03/2010 00:26, Dominic wrote:
I really enjoyed my visit on Friday evening to the Thames Tunnel and
Fancy Fair, for which I had a combined ticket. There are a lot of TfL
staff volunteers working hard, however reception arrangements aren't
great and the first point of contact for most visitors is likely to be
agency security guards who aren't necessarily forthcoming with
information, and some people missed their tours due to being/queuing
in the wrong place, so I hope this post is helpful to those visiting
on Saturday.

The Thames Tunnel tours start from Rotherhithe Station, and queuing
for these is at the station entrance on Brunel Road. Thames Tunnel
tours are at set times, as already chosen by visitors with tickets for
these tours.

The Fancy Fair is at the Brunel Museum in Railway Avenue. When I
attended there were no queues for the Fancy Fair itself, and visitors
could enter and exit freely at any time, even without ticket checks.
Visitors with tickets for Thames Tunnel tours at set times can
therefore visit the Fancy Fair at any time.

The Fancy Fair addtionally includes a visit to the shaft from which
the tunnel was dug, in which I understand visitors can descend stairs
to just above the level of the tunnel (I didn't visit the shaft).
There were queues outside the Brunel Museum to visit the shaft when I
arrived, and although visits to the shaft are not at set times,
visitors were being taken in groups.

The source of confusion for many visitors was the scarcity of TfL
staff in a welcoming role, mix ups over location between Rotherhithe
Station and the Brunel Museum, and mix ups between queues for Thames
Tunnel tours and queues for shaft visits. If in doubt, don't be afraid
to ask a member of staff what's going on.

Thanks to everyone who made this event possible.
Dominic
Anychance of them doing repeat tours of the tunnel in coming weeks,
thanks to high demand?