Quack!

Back in early June we decided to do something gloriously and ashamedly touristy – take a tour on one of the bright yellow amphibious vehicles we'd seen trundling around Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament.

Tickets are limited – and at £17.50 for an adult not cheap – so we booked up online which was clearly a wise thing to do. The weather was amazing, all the tours were sold out and there were quite a few disappointed children throwing tantrums at the start sited behind the London Eye.

A little late we set off in Desdemona with Tony Merrick as our guide. An ex-stevedore from Lambeth; a laugh a minute man. Potentially annoying in long doses but for the purpose of the trip fantastic. Knowledgeable and amusing he did keep us entertained and I learnt a thing or three - including the following gem: the lamp post used by an intruder to climb into Buckingham Palace some time ago (he was found in the Queen's bedroom) now sports two electric cattle prods! (We've seen them).

The most exciting part of the journey has to be splashing into the Thames at Vauxhall where the Pleasure Gardens once stood and where Handel's Water Music was first performed. We're now part of the small elite who have been over and under Lambeth Bridge in the same vehicle.

We absolutely loved the journey but I think the guide probably makes or breaks it so possibly pot luck as to who you end up with. They can't all be like Tony!