Protesters blew their whistles, banged their drums, and voiced their opposition to the so-called "War on Terror."
A few pelted officers with placards and tried to breach a police cordon set up to block them from getting near Downing Street, where Bush and his wife Laura arrived for a private dinner with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his wife Sarah, and other guests. Police made 13 arrests.
Demonstrators chanted "Bush- terrorist" only about 300m away from where the president and prime minister were dining.
Most of the demonstrators were there to wish the US president goodbye and good riddance, and some had a message for his successor as well.
"This is also a signal to the incoming (US) president that the people of this country are absolutely against this illegal war and destroying civil liberties," said Sarah Cox, a 71-year-old retired teacher who carried a Bush effigy bearing a cowboy hat, toy pistol, and miniature missile.
Writer Sheila O'Callaghan, 59, said she hoped the next president would bring a change in America's relationship to the rest of the world
"Anything else and it would be a tragedy for the whole of humanity," she said.
Security was tight - demonstrators were packed against a massive police barricade. London's Metropolitan Police said they had deployed about 1,200 officers to secure the president's 24-hour visit to Britain, although Deputy Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison told reporters there was no specific threat to the trip.
Earlier in the day, about 70 protesters wearing orange underpants over their clothes gathered at nearby Trafalgar Square to demonstrate against the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The underwear was labeled "Fair Trial My Arse."
The protests were small compared with previous demonstrations. Police said a rally marking the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq in March drew 10,000 demonstrators, and both were dwarfed by a massive anti-war rally in February 2003, which drew hundreds of thousands to London's Hyde Park to protest Bush and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's saber-rattling over Iraq.
Even with Blair out of office and Bush's presidency winding down, the extremely close relationship between the two men still riles many.
As the red carpet was rolled out for the Bush at Downing Street, Sue Davis, 81, said she hoped Brown would keep the president at arm's length.
"I want to tell him please break with the Blair-Bush thing," Davis said.
