Occasionally whales and seals are seen in the Thames. Since 1986 Common Seals have been spotted as far up as Richmond. A Lesser Rorqual (Minke) Whale has been seen as well as a Bottle-Nosed Dolphin which was stranded at East India Dock. Such incidents have offered exciting distractions for the people of London over many centuries.
Several incidents of whales in the Thames were recorded by John Evelyn, Deptford's famous 17th century diarist.
In 1658 he noted that "a large whale was taken betwixt my land abutting on the Thames and Greenwich, which drew an infinite concourse to see it, by water, coach and on foote. It appeared first below Greenwich at low water, for at high water it would have destroyed all the boats. After a long conflict it was killed with a harping iron, stuck in the head, out of which spouted blood and water by two tunnels and after a horrid groan it ran quite on shore and died."
Again in 1699 Evelyn wrote "After an extraordinary storm there came up the Thames a whale fifty-six feet long."
In 1842 the capture of a young fin whale about 20 feet long provided quite an attraction. It was killed off Deptford Pier one Sunday by a number of watermen and its two ton body was displayed at the Bull and Butcher public house on the corner of Old King Street nearby. A printer in Flagon Row, Deptford quickly printed up some bills to advertise this "Extraordinary and Surprising Novelty for sight-seers".
In 1965 there was great excitement when a school of whales was sighted off Woolwich Pier. Billy Smart's circus tried to catch one and enlisted the support of skin-divers, a gigantic fishing net and a rubber dingy to inflate under the unfortunate captive. They planned to take the whale to a temporary pool on Clapham Common then to a permanent aquarium at Windsor. All were frustrated when a policeman pointed out that anything caught in the Thames becomes property of the Queen and under the Whaling Industry Act you cannot catch a whale in British waters. The whale catchers were last seen edging the whales out of the river, hoping to catch one in the open sea.
Step 1 - Whales
How many whales were there in the 1965 school? This is A
Step 2 - Birds
Now head towards the Nature Park and find the Birds information board. How many different species of birds are there? This is B
Step 3 - Animals
Find the animals information board and read the text. How many bat species are there in Britain? This is C
Step 4 - Bicycles
Find the black marker post for national cycle route #4. How many miles from here to Oxford? This is D
Step 5 - Tree
Look for a tree with white plastic tag "B&A ?????" (Hint: It's in the middle of the park). Add up all the numbers on the white tag. This is E
Step 6 - Plants
Now back in the Nature Park, read the Plants information board. How many grasses lightly cover the area? This is F
The final co-ordinates can be calculated by:
N 51 29.(A*(B+5))+C
W 0 01.(D-E-4)*F*5
