My Southwark (part 2)

This is the second half of my little walking tour around Southwark. The first part can be found here: My Southwark (part 1). We take a walk down Borough High Street this time. One thing I have learned through this little exercise is that I need to walk east along the river to explore Southwark around the mayor's office and west from my office to explore the area leading up to Southwark Underground Station.  There is so much more to Southwark than my little walking tour but these are my favourite spots.

6. The George Inn

Just across Borough High Street from Borough Market and Vinopolis, you will find The George Inn.  The George Inn was frequented by Charles Dickens and in fact, features in his novel Little Dorrit.  The inn appeared on the first map of Southwark dating back to 1543 and is the only surviving galleried London coaching inn.

 

The George Inn
77 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NH
020 7407 2056

 

7. The Climbers by Ofra Zimbalista

If you walk a little further south down Borough High Street, you will see the marvellous sculpture The Climbers by Ofra Zimbalista.  This shows three blue men climbing up Maya House, each holding a different musical instrument.  You can find Hiba Lebanese restaurant underneath.

 

8.  St George the Martyr Church

The earliest record of a church on this site was in 1122 but the current buildings date back to eighteenth century.  Like The George Inn, the church has strong links to Charles Dickens and several scenes from the novel take place in and around the church.  Members of the Dickens Fellowship are welcomed to the church each year for an annual service. 

St George the Martyr Church
Borough High Street
London SE1 1JA
020 7357 7331

9.  St George’s Churchyard Gardens

The St George's Churchyard Gardens lie across the way from the church and are interesting in and of themselves.  This was once the site of the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison where Charles Dickens’ father was incarcerated for debt in 1824.  Seeing his father in the prison haunted dickens for most of his life and the experience dominates Little Dorrit.  The last remnant of the prison wall forms the back wall of the gardens.

 

 

10.  The Shard and London Bridge Quarter

Well, it has been a long and exciting tour around Southwark and now we head back to London Bridge Rail Station and to The Shard.  When it is finished in 2012, The Shard is likely to be the main attraction in Southwark as it will be the tallest skyscraper in the United Kingdom.  It will stand at 310 metres tall (1,017 feet) and will have 72 floors plus 15 radiator floors on the roof.  The good news is that it will also have an observation deck at the top for tourists to visit!  The building will have a glass exterior and will be made to look like a shard of glass striking out from the landscape.  I for one cannot wait until it is finished.

The Shard and London Bridge Quarter
32 London Bridge Street
London
SE1

And that is the end of My Southwark!  It was a great competition, I must say, and I’ll post about the exciting prize giving next week.

My Southwark (part 1)

Southwark is one of the most understated and unknown areas in London but it is steeped in history and full of beautiful and interesting places to visit.  You can reach Southwark by catching the train or tube to London Bridge Station and there is enough to keep you occupied for a whole day.  There is certainly no shortage of interesting things to do but I would suggest the following walking tour:

1.  The London Dungeon

Just outside of London Bridge Rail Station lies one of London’s most popular destinations.  In fact, there are queues to get in all year around and it is best to book your place in advance!  It is certainly my favourite attraction and I have visited it many times.  The London Dungeon is an interactive experience detailing London’s most horrible and macabre history.  Highlights include exhibits on The Great Plague, Sweeney Todd and Bloody Mary and there is also the ride Extremis: Drop Ride to Doom.  Not to be missed!

The London Dungeon
28-34 Tooley Street
London SE1 2SZ
020 7403 7221

2. Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral is an exquisite example of Gothic architecture and although a church has been on this site since 606AD, it has only been an Anglican cathedral since 1905.  Not only is the Cathedral visually stunning on the exterior, it is beautiful inside too and certainly worth a visit.  It is open daily from 8.00am to 6.00pm

 

Southwark Cathedral
Chapter House
Montague Close, London SE1 9DA
020 7367 6734

3. The Golden Hinde

Just around the corner from Southwark Cathedral lies a full size replica of Sir Francis Drake’s 16th century galleon The Golden Hinde.  Drake circumnavigated the globe in the original Golden Hinde between 1577 and 1580.  The original ship was kept at Deptford for nearly 100 years after she sailed before eventually rotting away.  This replica has not faired too badly either though and she too has circumnavigated the globe.  She has travelled a total of 140,000 miles and is now preserved as a museum.

The Golden Hinde
Pickfords Wharf
Clink Street, London SE1 9DG
020 7407 7056

4.  Borough Market

Borough Market is a dedicated food market that is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  You can buy fresh foods of an extremely high quality and this is a wonderful place to visit if you are catering a fancy dinner or if you just want a lunch time snack.  While you are there, be sure to look up and appreciate the fine Art Deco style of the buildings.

Borough Market
8 Southwark Street
London SE1 1TL
020 7407 1002

5. Vinopolis

Vinopolis is an incredibly popular venue to visit in Southwark.  There you can mix wine tasting with socialising, dine in the adjoining Cantina Vinopolis and purchase world class wines from the attached Lathwaites Wine Store.  Vinopolis is tucked under the arches of the Victorian railway viaduct that carries the trains from London Bridge to Cannon Street rail station. 

Vinopolis
1 Bank End
London SE1 9BU
020 7940 3000

MyCommunity result

Ten days ago, I posted to tell you that I was taking part in the Gumtree MyCommunity competition.  I’ll definitely post about the prize giving (I didn’t win!) but I’d just like to thank the following bloggers for their support and comments.  Apparently it was a very close contest.

 

Trisha - Tripping Over My Tongue	Hels - Art and Architecture, mainly
Vanessa - I Dream In Words	William - London Is Cool
Agnes - Precious Moments	Fullet - Secret Forest
AVCr8teur - AVCr8teur's Photo Blog	CiBi - CitiBitch
Miss Diarist - The Dating Diaries	Kathy - Hometown Tourist

Now I know I promised that I would post my entry last week but I had such a busy week last week with the prize giving and my colleague’s retirement party too.  I’ll be posting my entry in two parts starting tomorrow.

MyCommunity Competition: My Southwark

Yesterday morning, the Eternal Tourist (yours truly) took a self-guided walking tour around Southwark which is the little area in which I work.  It is tucked beneath London Bridge and spreads around Borough High Street all the way to Borough Station.  I think it is safe to say that I am rather enamoured with this historic and understated area and I jumped at the chance to take part in the MyCommunity Contest over at Gumtree.

It has all been quite exciting really. On Saturday morning, I received a mysterious package in the mail. I was thrilled to discover a small digital camera, a Moleskine notebook, a pencil and instructions to capture the very best of my community.  I decided to focus on Southwark because I was long overdue on a photowalk and I had promised you all some more photos of Southwark Cathedral. 

The photos I took are attached in the slide show above and once the competition is over, I'll tell you all about them in more detail and take you on your very own personal photowalk!

For now, I need your help and support!  Success in the competition is based on the number of (relevant) comments I get on this post and over at the forum at Gumtree.

Please can you visit my entry My Southwark at Gumtree and either leave a comment here or on my forum listing there.  Tell me about your own experiences in Southwark – have you been to Borough Food Market or Southwark Cathedral?  Can you tell me something about Southwark I didn’t already know?  What do you think of the photographs?  What will you get in return?  Why, I’ll be posting a personal thank you note with links to your blogs at the end of the week.

Next week will be a bumper filled Southwark week here on Emm in London because not only will I be posting the photos above, I’ll also be posting an update on The Shard development too.  Stay tuned and help me win the competition please!