Stage and screen actress Fiona Mollison and her theatre director husband David Gilmore have spent the past 15 years living on the River Thames in Putney, in a luxurious houseboat called Solace.
“It’s aptly named because living here really is a solace,” says Fiona, whose credits include the film The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. “Living surrounded by water is incredibly calming. It does something for the soul.” The couple’s four-bedroom home, now for sale through Savills at £2.7m, has a roof terrace and vast glass windows offering fantastic views.
The Old Boathouse is a six-bedroom contemporary property in Hurley, Berkshire, fronting onto the River Thames (on the market with Knight Frank at £3.25m)
“The sun rises over Wandsworth Bridge and sets over Putney Bridge and we get so much light – something you would never get in a terraced house in London,” Fiona says. Life on the water is also incredibly peaceful. “Ducks nest around here and we watch as the ducklings dive off the decks,” she adds. “We use the Thames Clipper to get around and are in the heart of London, yet feel like we’re on holiday every day.”
Historically, the Thames played a vital role in the growth of London’s economy. Today, however, it is the unique waterfront lifestyle that has come to define the capital’s river – especially as the health benefits of “blue space” become increasingly well-documented.
As well as benefiting from less road noise, less polluted air and more light, researchers have found that being by water has a psychologically restorative effect. Dr Mathew White, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter who worked on the pan-European BlueHealth project, has said that spending time in and around aquatic environments has consistently been shown to lead to higher benefits than being in green space, including reducing negative mood and stress.
Londoners are certainly as keen on blue space as ever. Strutt & Parker’s 2026 Housing Futures survey found that 44% of people who said they would live in the capital within the next five years cited being near rivers and canals as important. Yet true waterfront homes remain relatively scarce, which underpins their long-term appeal and value, explains Justin Holder, associate director of Hamptons in Chiswick. “Demand isn’t just driven by aesthetics, but by lifestyle – morning runs along the Thames Path, paddleboarding or boating, and access to some of west London’s best riverside pubs and restaurants.”
Indeed, homes in postcode sectors by the Thames command an average premium of 17% over non-riverside properties in the same postcode, according to JLL Research. The highest premiums are in locations where new riverside homes are being built, with homes near the river in SE1 (South Bank), SW8 (Nine Elms) and W6 (Hammersmith) costing upwards of 39% more than flats located in postcodes further away.
London Square transforms Kingston’s Grade II listed former county hall, of Downton Abbey fame, into 264 riverside apartments starting at £480,000
Some of London’s most luxurious new developments are revitalising hitherto neglected riverside areas. The transformation of Battersea has been a vast project and Ransome’s Wharf marks a key moment in the regeneration of this historic stretch of the Thames between Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge.
The 1.6-acre site will reconnect the area with the river, open a new public waterfront walkway and landscaped plaza and restore water flow into the dock for the first time in decades. The 118 new homes, which will be completed in 2028 and start at £1.1m for a one-bedroom apartment, will be built in the former home of Ransome & Co., an engineering works that formed part of Battersea’s dockside industrial heritage.
The transformation of Battersea by Battersea Power Station and the development around it have made it into one of London’s most desirable riverside spots, says Becky Fatemi, executive partner at United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty.
A £4.85m contemporary masterpiece in Highbank featuring a pool, outdoor kitchen, and magnificent Thames views via Savills
“You’ve got best-in-class new developments, a genuinely exciting retail and dining scene, true river frontage and connectivity, with river buses changing the way people use the Thames and offering an enjoyable alternative to the Tube,” Fatemi says. “And then you have Battersea Park – having both river and park access is a very powerful combination.”
Other new developments are also filling in the missing parts of the Thames riverside jigsaw. The Capston is the final chapter in Ballymore’s Embassy Gardens development in Nine Elms. The 247 residences, which cost from £750,000 to £7m through Ballymore and are due to complete in 2028, will have art deco-inspired interiors, five-star amenities and Japanese-inspired gardens.
And Native Yard’s 5.5-acre Bankside Yards scheme plugs a crucial undeveloped gap along the South Bank between the Tate Modern and Blackfriars Station, reconnecting the area to the riverfront for the first time in 150 years.
A £4.5m seven-bedroom retreat in Bray’s gated Fisheries Estate, boasting a pool and direct Thames access with a private mooring (via Hamptons)
Opus, the inaugural building, which completes in early 2027, will be the tallest new-build residential structure in prime central London. Priced from £775,000 through JLL and Knight Frank, its 249 sustainable apartments and shared spaces will offer views of Blackfriars Bridge and the Tate Modern and across the river to St Paul’s Cathedral.
In such a built-up and densely populated city, the river offers the best views of some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks, points out Toto Lambert, partner at The Buying Solution, the independent buying arm of Knight Frank. “I recently worked with a family from Singapore whose brief for a pied-à-terre was simple but specific: a riverview apartment within strolling distance of the theatres,” Lambert says.
While the riverside market in east London mainly consists of new-build schemes set amid industrial and warehouse conversions, between Teddington Lock and Putney Bridge in the south-west, the waterfront market is dominated by period property and large houses, many with gardens stretching right to the riverbank.
A Grade II listed, seven-bedroom Hampton Wick estate with a private mooring, for sale at £3.5m+ with Cluttons
“Areas such as Chiswick, Barnes, Richmond, Mortlake and Putney remain some of the most desirable waterside locations, offering a rare combination of central London accessibility and a genuinely tranquil setting,” says Holder, adding that last year’s sale of Walpole House on Chiswick Mall for £12.5m marked a record price for W4. “This highlights the premium buyers are prepared to pay for exceptional riverside homes.”
Beyond London, premium prices continue to be paid along the Thames, according to Frances McDonald, director of residential research at Savills. Between Teddington Lock and the outskirts of Oxford, McDonald says hotspots include Cookham, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Shiplake, Sonning and Wargrave; in these locations, waterfront homes cost in excess of £1.5m, often double the price of comparable properties further inland.
A £2.8m Sonning sanctuary with 1.35 acres, 300ft of river frontage, and a powered wet boathouse via Strutt & Parker
Flood risk can be an issue in some places, however, so due diligence is important, points out James Shaw, director of buying agency Prime Purchase, the independent buying arms of Savills.
Outside the capital, homes with private moorings are often the most sought after. “They offer an entirely different way of moving through the landscape,” says Dominic Murray, sales manager at Jackson Stops Weybridge, “one that feels both more relaxed and connected to nature.”
“Provenance, beauty and a killer coat of varnish”
A traditional boat is the ultimate riverside accessory. In the same way a fine watch or vintage motorcar becomes part of one’s identity, a vintage boat transforms a property into a lifestyle.
Heather Dennett
Henley Sales and Charter
Choosing the right vessel is deeply personal. A slipper launch is the epitome of understated glamour, a perfect day boat. An elegant Edwardian launch is undeniably pretty and allows more people to enjoy the experience, with a full-height coach roof for interior entertaining. A larger historic cruiser means you can stay onboard for days or weeks, to really explore the river.
What matters is provenance, beauty and a killer coat of varnish. Traditional boats reward ownership when properly maintained, and this is where the Thames comes into its own, with renowned boatyards highly skilled in restoration and maintenance.
There’s also something wonderfully social about classic boat ownership. Henley’s Traditional Boat Festival is a British eccentricity, while the main Festival is a sophisticated, world-class event set on the riverbank with just a hint of Venice. Most days, however, the pleasure is simpler, mooring outside a favourite riverside restaurant and watching diners realise that arriving in a vintage Aston Martin did not quite win the day, because the true entrance was made by the couple in the classic boat.
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