Londoners in their tens of thousands turned out in bright autumn sunshine yesterday to cheer a convoy weighed down with precious metal through the streets of the capital.

They stood at times 20 deep on the route from the City to Trafalgar Square, filling the pavements, hanging out of office windows and even crowding the roof of the Bank of England. It was, presumably, a brief relief from the gloom within.

Britain’s Olympians and Paralympians came home from Beijing with an unprecedented haul of bullion, 149 medals. Yesterday was their victory parade, a chance for an essentially undemonstrative nation to fly the flag of gratitude. Coming on top of Gordon and Alistair saving the world with their bank rescue plan, it was a sweet moment of national pride. It is pleasing to applaud those who strive for reasons other than money, which set the Olympians at a distance from, for example, the FA Premier League and its sometimes ill-behaved stars.

Tim Brabants, his rowing gold around his neck, which would be an excessive piece of bling if it were not what it was, thought that receiving the adulation of the home crowd almost better than winning the medal.

Led by the Band of the Coldstream Guards and crawling at 3mph, a speed not much seen in Olympic events, the processions of 12 flat-bed lorries bore their cargoes of athletes and their medals, stopping occasionally to give spectators a better view. The leading lorry had 26 medals on board, including the three golds dangling on the chest of the cyclist Chris Hoy.

Britain’s biggest success for a century is put down at least partly to money invested in training. Each lorry bore the banner of the Visa credit card company, one of two Team GB’s main sponsors, adding a positive note to the disgraced British banking industry. Many in the crowd waved giant blue plastic hands given out free by the National Lottery, which has put a total of £3 billion into British sport. At least that is what it said on the hands.

The parade’s destination was Trafalgar Square, packed with a crowd estimated at 10,000, the biggest since Londoners gathered there to find their city had cocked a snook at Paris to win the 2012 Olympics.

An exuberant Dame Kelly Holmes declared: “This has put the Great back in Britain.” It was, said the double-gold star of Athens, a huge boost for 2012. “You need passion to succeed,” the Dame said, still exhibiting her own boundless joie de vivre.

At the back of the square, mingling among the crowd and largely unnoticed, were Steve and Kay Adlington, from Mansfield, strolling about with no VIP tickets or special privileges. Their daughter, Rebecca, the twice gold-medal-winning swimmer, would be on stage soon and they were there to add their own cheers.

“When Becky was in Beijing she was in the Olympic bubble and wasn’t really aware of the adulation,” her father said. “Mind you, they’ve made up for it immensely since, and today is just great.”

Lord Coe was the next warm-up act. “The athletes in Beijing gave us the most extraordinary platform for the next four years,” he told the crowd with pride. They did, Seb: just make sure that Stratford is ready.

As the athletes took their places on a large stand in front of the National Gallery they declared the day’s reception to have been unbelievable, and expressed their gratitude for the nation’s support. Many offered reminders that Beijing gold is not the end of the story, and that 2012 beckons.

Nicole Cooke raised a big cheer when she told the crowd that, after her cycling gold, she had gone on to win the World Championships two weeks ago. The rowers, for their part, got in a good-natured dig at the particular pleasure of beating the Australians.

Lee Pearson, who has overcome disability to win nine equestrian golds in three successive Paralympic Games, apologised for not having his winning horse, Gus, or his new mount, Gentleman, with him. He touched a nerve, however, when he told the crowd: “I used to be just an average disabled person walking down the street, but whatever you’re born with you’ve always got a talent.”

One medallist after another professed to be breathless at the scale of yesterday’s welcome. James DeGale, Britain’s only boxing gold-medal winner, said: “I expected a little bus through London. This is real stuff – I’m so proud to be British.”

He also revealed the secret of his success. His father had placed a £100 bet on him when he was only an 80-1 outsider. Now that’s incentive.

Throughout the formal proceedings the organisers had taken care to give disabled athletes equal status with the able-bodied. Rebecca Adlington stepped up with Eleanor Simmons, the 13-year-old gold-winning swimmer from Swansea, who was borne on stage on the shoulders of hunky teammates.

The biggest cheer, though, was reserved for the final turn. You could not miss the tousled blond mop as it made its grand entrance from behind the massed athletes flanked by Tessa Jowell and Lord Coe. Boris Johnson was probably the proudest man in London yesterday.

The Mayor of London commanded centre stage to announce that, despite the falling leaves and crashing shares of mid-October, this was Britain’s biggest Olympic celebration in 100 years. The rowers alone had scored the biggest aquatic victory for the nation since Nelson at Trafalgar. Sport, he said, taught many things, including discipline and how to cope with failure – “something we in the Conservative Party have been used to for some time”.

He concluded: “I have no doubt that this extraordinary team will do as well, if not better, in 2012.”

The crowd cheered and waved their paper Union Jacks and giant blue hands. The sun miraculously still shone on Trafalgar Square where the Olympians mingled with bystanders and signed autographs before boarding a coach to take them to tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Except, that is, James DeGale, who was so mobbed by fans that he missed the bus and had to walk all the way down The Mall to his next party. Such is the price of golden success.

Heroes on parade

2003 Rugby World Cup
England became the first northern hemisphere team to win it
Final: November 22 Parade held: December 8 16-day wait 250,000 attended

2004 Athens Olympics
Team GB brought home nine golds, nine silvers, twelve bronzes
Closing ceremony: August 29 Parade held: October 18 50-day wait 100,000 attended

2005 Ashes victory
England's first victory since 1987
Fifth Test ended: September 12 Parade held: September 13 One-day wait 30,000 attended

2008 Beijing Olympics
Team GB's largest haul of medals since 1908
Closing ceremony: August 24 Parade held: October 16 53-day wait 210,000 attended

— Sources: Metropolitan Police, GLA, Times archive