Mudlarking Tours and Guided Walks

The Thames Discovery Programme, a nonprofit community archaeology organization, offers occasional guided walks of archaeologically significant areas of the foreshore.

Thames Explorer Trust offers guided mudlarking expeditions at the Millennium Bridge, Rotherhithe and Greenwich.

Thames and Field has frequent mudlarking tours open to the public, led by Steve Brooker of the TV programme "Mud Men."

The City of London Archaeological Society sponsors occasional guided walks of archaeological sites on the foreshore.

Thames21 organizes frequent shoreline cleanup days for volunteers to collect and dispose of garbage along the foreshore, which may not be "mudlarking" exactly but you never know what you might find while cleaning!

An Introduction to Mudlarking

This recent article about mudlarking is a good overview of the history and current practice of the hobby.

This old newsreel shows what mudlarking was like in 1962.

Portable Antiquities Scheme

Should you be lucky enough to find something extremely old, rare or valuable on the foreshore, you are legally required to report your find to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a governmental department dedicated to tracking and documenting archaeological finds made by the general public. Here's how to contact them:

Finds Liaison Officer for London, for any significant mudlarking finds made within the greater London area.
Finds Liaison Officers for other areas outside of London for finds made anywhere else in the UK.

Should I Clean the Coins I Find?

This article gives detailed recommendations about what techniques you should use, if any, for cleaning tarnished coins you find on the foreshore.