Fiona MacLeod’s Guide to the London Neighbourhoods That Repay Wandering — From Bermondsey to Dalston and the Bits in Between
Reported by Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat.
By Fiona MacLeod | UK London Info Honest Travel Guidance for London Visitors
The London that visitors see from the top of a double-decker bus on the tourist route is real London in the sense that all of London is real London, but it is not the London that Londoners live in, and the gap between the two is where the most interesting walking happens. I am going to give you four neighbourhoods that repay wandering, with specific instructions for what to look for and where to eat while you are looking.
Bermondsey and Borough
Start at Borough Market (visit on a weekday morning if possible — Saturday is spectacular but very crowded — and eat something from the market for breakfast before the tour groups arrive). Walk south along Borough High Street, which has been a road since the Romans, and turn onto Bermondsey Street, which has evolved from antiques district to design and food destination without becoming unrecognisable in the way that some East London streets have. The White Cube gallery on Bermondsey Street is free to visit and shows contemporary art in a serious way. The Bermondsey Beer Mile (the railway arches along Bermondsey’s railway line) is a collection of independent breweries and taprooms that is best visited on a Friday or Saturday afternoon. The Bermondsey Street neighbourhood association produces a walking map available online.
Dalston and Hackney
Take the Overground to Dalston Kingsland. Walk south down Ridley Road, which is one of the most genuinely multicultural streets in London — a traditional market selling Caribbean, West African, Turkish, and South Asian produce alongside the hardware shops, fabric retailers, and discount grocers that have been there for decades. This is not a curated multicultural experience; it is a working street market that serves the neighbourhood. Eat something. Then walk north through Dalston toward London Fields (a fifteen-minute walk) and through the park to Broadway Market, which is an excellent Saturday market that is also very busy on Saturdays but that is more navigable than Borough. The coffee at the end of Broadway Market at the Lido Cafe is good and the view over London Fields is peaceful.
Southwark and Bankside
Walk the South Bank from Waterloo Bridge to Tower Bridge. This is approximately 2.5 kilometres of riverside path with: the National Theatre (free to walk through and look at the foyer exhibitions), the Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre (tours available, worth booking), the Clink Prison Museum (if you enjoy slightly grim history), and Borough Market at the end. Stop at the Southbank Centre’s cafe for the view over the Thames. The walk is best in the late afternoon when the light is on the river and the City of London skyline opposite is at its most photogenic. The entire walk is free except for any food or museum entry.
Greenwich
Take the DLR to Cutty Sark station. The Cutty Sark itself is a restored clipper ship from 1869 that is extraordinary to walk around. The Royal Observatory is on the hill above Greenwich Park and contains the Prime Meridian line — you can stand on zero longitude for the cost of admission and the climb. The view from the top of Greenwich Park over Canary Wharf and the Thames is one of the best urban panoramas in London. The market in the covered market building is good on weekends. Allow a full day. Visit Greenwich’s website has the complete area guide.
For neighbourhood walking that goes off the tourist route, see The Daily Mash.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
