The Silver Jubilee Walkway, as it was known then, was originally laid down in 1977 as the main feature of the work of the Environmental Committee, set up by the London Celebrations for The Queen's Silver Jubilee, under the Chairmanship of Max Nicholson. Her Majesty The Queen opened it by unveiling a plaque on the South Bank Lion, on the night of the Thames fireworks celebrations on 9 June 1977.

The Walkway received enthusiastic support from all of the local authorities. Leicester Square was partly pedestrianised, the Jubilee Gardens were created on the site of the Festival of Britain and gradually the Thames riverside was improved. Eventually it became possible to walk along the riverside of the Thames all the way from Lambeth Bridge to Tower Bridge, with wheelchair access.

Panoramic panels were introduced in 1980, not only on the Walkway itself, but also on the Embankment and on many of London's bridges to identify the buildings along the way. These have been unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, President Nelson Mandela (during his State Visit to Britain in 1996), and other distinguished figures.

In the year of The Queen's Golden Jubilee, the Jubilee Walkway was completely refurbished. Almost all the panoramic panels were either updated or replaced in order to reflect the changes in London's skyline.

In the year of The Queen's Golden Jubilee, gold discs were placed in several places; one near Guildhall where The Queen lunched on Golden Jubilee day; three near Poultry panel which The Queen unveiled on 24 October 2002 to mark the completion of the work; six along The Mall to mark the Golden Jubilee spur opened by The Queen on 2 June 2003, the 50th Anniversary of the Coronation; and a further one on the South Bank to mark the unveiling of a panel by HRH The Duke of Gloucester, the Trusts Patron, at Hay's Galleria.