A young man sits on a sandbank beneath a sun brolley. With legs and feet protruding the man is in the middle of a sand maze constructed for the London Thames Festival, the annual celebration of all things related to London life and culture. The maze has been trodden by pairs of feet to create concentric circles that ultimately lead to the centre. Seen only at low-tide on the river's foreshore near Gabriel's Wharf, the stretch of fine, natural sandy beach is used by Londoners to sample a touch of seaside on fine summer days and was popular with Victorians before the arrivals of railways taking them to the coast. Nowadays the Thames is much cleaner after more stringent environment policies and the sand in some places is pure.