Walking alone: Elephant & Castle to Borough... and beyond

Friday August 23, 2024.

As I still had some time away from work I decided to take another walk through London. I was going to be joined by my youngest, but Keilyn and her sister Erin had both gone away for the week, so I was left to explore on my own.

A simple journey saw me catch a Metropolitan line train to Baker street where I changed to a Bakerloo line train, that whisked me off to Elephant & Castle, which is as good as a starting point as any.

At Lambeth North the carriage emptied and I found myself in an deserted carriage, which was cool.

After exiting the station I turned right, as I had no route to follow, and began walking along St George's Road towards Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, before turning right, again, on to Lambeth Road.

Approaching St George's Circus I took some photographs of the obelisk, at the centre of the roundabout, before turning my attention to the Bakerloo line London Road Underground Train Depot, situated on the corner opposite.

I continued along Borough Road and onto Borough High Street, from where I turned right onto Trinity Street. Realising that I was going to end up going around in circles, I turned left onto Globe Street, which led me to Pilgrimage Street.

I found that I was in a small residential area with not much to offer, so I turned right onto Manciple Street, before turning left onto Hankey Place. And I was glad that I did.

This small street with its houses and flats had secrets to show. Along the low walls many of what I thought were iron railings were, in fact, ARP stretchers, left over from World War II. I had heard about these but had never seen them in person, so I was thrilled.

I exited Hankey Place and turned left onto Long Lane. before heading up Tennis Street to Angel Place. Now, Angel Place is a small alley that links Tennis Street with Borough High Street, but, again, this hides a secret. 

The tall brick wall, to one side, was once the south boundary wall of Marshalsea Prison, which stood near here until it closed in 1842. Behind it is St George's Churchyard Gardens, where I sat in the shade for a few minutes, before continuing on my walk.

Suitably rested I continued along Angel Place to Borough High Street. As it was approaching noon I thought I would find a watering hole and stop for a beverage. So, I continued up Borough High Street and crossed Southwark Street and found myself outside 'The Southwark Tavern'. And in I went.

Considering the amount of times that I have visited this area, I had never entered 'The Southwark Tavern', which has stood on this spot, in some form or another, since the 1800s.

I ordered a drink and stood at the bar, talking with the barman about the history of the pub. He informed me that the cellar contained cells from the old debtor's prison that once stood on the site. Intrigued, I headed downstairs.

The cellar has its own bar, named 'Debtor's Bar', and there were indeed cells, now turned into comfortable booths, around one side. On closer inspection, though, it was easy to see that these 'cells' were not as old as they first appeared. Besides, the Debtor's Prison had been on the other side of the road. But, they were still interesting to see.

There was some cool architecture along O'Meara Street, that I passed as I made my way to Union Street.

It was here that I found a café bar, called 'Audrey's', that is located within a 1930s tram shelter, which is quite cool.

There were also old buildings, on Copperfield Street, that have somehow survived the redevelopments that have gone on in and around the area.

I then continued along Union Street until I reached The Cut, where I decided to stop for a beverage at 'The Ring' pub. This pub is full of boxing memorabilia and is named for a building that stood opposite, many years before. 

The odd shaped glass cube of a building, opposite, was once a chapel, before being bought, in 1910, when it became the first indoor boxing ring for the working classes. 

From here I continued along The Cut, passing The Old Vic and the Goods Crane for the Waterloo & City line, before arriving on Baylis Road. I continued on my merry way by continuing onto Hercules Road, before turning right on Centaur Street.

Centaur Street takes you beneath the mainline railway tracks from Waterloo and is like many other bridges, with one exception. On the north wall there are a number of mosaic, based on the paintings and writings of William Blake.

It certainly adds a bit of culture to a nondescript bridge. 

Finding myself on Royal Street I made my way to Lambeth Palace Road, passing St Thomas' Hospital, where I turned right, crossing Westminster Bridge Road and continued north on York Road.

I passed the former General Lying-In Hospital, before reaching Waterloo station, where I headed down to the platform level to catch a train to Baker Street, from where I caught a train back to Watford.

A great day of wandering and discovering.

Distance travelled:

• Bus - 0.0 miles
• Cable Car - 0.0 miles
• Car - 0.0 miles
• DLR - 0.0 miles
• Ferry - 0.0 miles
• Overground - 0.0 miles
• River Boat - 0.0 miles
• Taxi - 0.3 miles
• Train - 0.0 miles
• Underground - 36 miles
• Walking - 5.4 miles