My great grandfather was a lock keeper, my father

was a pleasure boat engineer. They go back as far as

1715 one of my relatives calculated.

They were the times when the barges were made of wood

and the men were made of steel.

I'm Alex Hickman, I'm a pier controller for

London River services which is part of Transport for London

I'm a watermen and lighterman by trade.

I've been working on the river for all my life

and I really enjoy it, it's a great place to work.

What's great about the river is you can leave the busy hubub of

the town and come down the pier and you get to the tranquility of the River Thames.

It's great to see people smiling, looking at the places of interest,

the architecture. the history

and it's really rewarding when they leave the boat and tell you how much they've enjoyed

your great commentary and the in the information they've given you.

What's great about the boats nowadays is that they stop

a variety of locations and you can hop on hop off at different locations

throughout your journey

you can jump off at the Globe Theatre you can jump back on and get off

at the Tower of London,

go down to Greenwich, one of the most beautiful places in London.

What's great about Greenwich is its history.

It's connected with the navy and fishing

and you can visit many restaurants and pubs and markets

It's a bit olde worlde and that's what I like about Greenwich.

When you work on the river you feel like you're part of London, not just someone

who works and goes 9 to 5,

You're part of everything that's here. It's not just a job, it's a way of life.