Radio presenter from Lancashire drives onto London ferry thinking it was bridge over River Thames

Sophie Montague, from Whalley in the Ribble Valley, was left baffled after taking a wrong turn in the capital on Friday (January 6), with the 28-year-old finding herself sailing down the river on the Woolwich Ferry.

“I literally cannot cope with myself,” Sophie told followers on Tik Tok. “I have tried to cross the River Thames on what I thought was a road and I have actually ended up on a ferry – like, I’m on a ferry.”

Puzzled at how she had managed to board the boat, Sophie – a radio presenter with Made in Kent Radio – soon found the funny side of her impromptu London cruise.

Cracking up in front of the camera, she said: ‘I just, I can’t even… how? Anyway, I’m going to go and enjoy my boat.’

The video of her gaffe has been viewed 1.5 milion times on TikTok and shows a startled Sophie aboard the ferry as it pulls away from the riverside on its journey across the Thames.

You can watch Sophie’s video in our media player above.

Sophie later posted an update, adding: ‘It was a very, very dramatic and traumatic commute to work today, I’ll have you know. Wouldn’t recommend, but I’m safe and fine and at work.”

The ferry links Woolwich and North Woolwich and takes pedestrians, cyclists and drivers on a free five-minute journey across the Thames.

Sophie later blamed travel directions app Waze for sending her on her mystery river tour along the London waterway.

But she was heartened to learn she’s not the first driver to take a surprise sail on the Woolwich Ferry.

In the comments section on TikTok, one of Sophie’s followers said: “If this is the Woolwich ferry, I did the exact same thing and I cried because I thought we were going to end up in France.”

And in September 2021, Twitter user Jason made the same mistake, which he also blamed on Waze.

‘Waze is the worst map,” said Jason. “Now I have to explain to my friend that the reason I’m 2.5 hours late for brunch is because I ended up on a ferry…”

You can follow Sophie @sophmontague on Instagram and TikTok