As the London Museum announces a mudlarking exhibition, mudlarker Lara Maiklem says combing the foreshore can transport you back in time

Earlier this week, Lara Maiklem climbed down to the foreshore of the River Thames at low tide to spend several hours gently scrabbling at its surface in pursuit of a 20-year obsession.

Known on social media as the London Mudlark and the author of three books on larking, Maiklem is at the forefront of a growing number of people spending their spare time combing through the mud of the capital’s river searching for historical artefacts.