\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 Ever since the Romans founded the city of Londinium nearly 2000 years ag
o, the River Thames has continued to play an essential role in LondonÆs history. The name Thames derives from the old \b \cf4 \ATXht10071000 Celtic word\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 for river,\i teme\i0 , variants of which are found in many British place names. I
t was the inroad used by the Viking invaders of the 8th and 9th centuries, it nurtured the founding of the Royal Navy in Tudor times, and it provided a transport route for much of BritainÆs trade until well into the 1950s. Since then the changing scale
of maritime commerce has moved the big ships elsewhere and, thanks to some farsighted redevelopment, the Thames has become a splendid leisure amenity. Not only have riverside walks, marinas, restaurants, cafΘs and markets gradually replaced the wharves
and warehouses of an earlier era, but the Thames and its cruise boats afford visitors the best and most pleasant way of seeing many of LondonÆs sights.
