Family trip to London: Day 1, Southwark

Wise words.

Thursday October 30, 2025.

Having taken a few days off work, Emma and I took Keilyn to London, while Erin was staying with friends.

We set off, via taxi, to Watford Metropolitan station to board a train to Finchley Road and from there a Jubilee line train to Waterloo.

On leaving Waterloo station we crossed Waterloo Road and headed for the Bus Cafe, for a spot of lunch. Full English breakfasts were ordered and devoured, washed down with coffee and tea.

With our bellies full we left the bus garage and headed along The Cut and onto Union Street. We passed the Embassy Tea House and the London Fire Brigade Headquarters, before crossing Southwark Bridge Road. We then passed the old Tram shelter, which is now a gourmet burger restaurant, and the Mint & Gospel Lighthouse Mission building, before turning up Redcross Way beside Crossbones Graveyard.

Redcross Way brought us to Dirty Lane and the arches beneath the mainline railway of Cannon Street station. This eventually brought us to Clink Street. Keilyn's face lit up when she discovered that we were going into the Clink Prison Museum, a place she had wanted to visit for ages.

"The Clink": the prison that gave its name to all others.

We descended the stairs, paying our dues at the booth, before entering the site of the original Clink Prison. The prison that gave its name to all others.

Information boards told the history of the prison from its earliest inception, in 1144, to its closure in 1780. Manacles, locks, swords, torture implements, chastity belts and much more were on display, many of which could be handled, allowing you to feel the weight of the chains, giving a sense of how it would feel to be manacled for days on end.

There was also information on Crossbones Graveyard and the Winchester Geese, the Liberty of the Clink, the Bishop of Winchester and a brief mention of the other five prisons that were in Southwark.

"Off with his head!"

As we walked through the Clink Keilyn was keeping an eye out for the 'ghosts' that had been hidden around the museum. These 'ghosts' were small puppets and, should you find all ten, you received a sweet on leaving the gift shop. Of course, Keilyn spotted all ten and received her lollipop as we left the prison.

We continued along Clink Street and joined the throng of tourists, passing the Golden Hinde and turned onto Cathedral Street and then Montague Close, where we sat in Minerva Square to rest our legs and have a drink. We then continued along Montague Close and joined Tooley Street, before turning along St Olaf Stairs and joining The Queen's Walk along the River Thames. Countless wooden sheds were in various stages of being built and painted, ready for the Christmas season, while the old City Hall is in the middle of a major refurbishment, with much of its glass having been removed.

A Victorian era postbox.

We looked at the Royal Mail Penfold Postbox, a relic of the Victorian era, before we turned south along Duchess Walk to Queen Elizabeth Street. After buying an ice cream, for Keilyn, and some more refreshments and snacks, we walked along Tower Bridge Road and headed for our hotel... Premier Inn London Tower Bridge Hotel.

The view from our hotel room.

After checking in, Keilyn grabbed the room key and took the lift to the top floor, all the while we were hoping for a room with a view. And we were not disappointed. We could just make out the top of the London Eye and half of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, but we had a clear view of The Shard, which was perfect.

Walking with Keilyn: Aldgate to Westminster... and beyond

Friday October 10, 2025.

Keilyn and I had worked out that we hadn't visited London, together, in quite a few weeks, which was a shock.

So, as soon as I had finished work and Keilyn had arrived home from school, we both got changed, grabbed some snacks and took a taxi to Watford Metropolitan underground station. An Aldgate-bound train was waiting at platform 2, which we hurriedly boarded, grabbing seats near the centre of the train. Within minutes we were on our way.

Pulling into Harrow-on-the-Hill station we were informed, by our driver, that the train pulling in beside us would be leaving first. So, a mass exodus of travellers, including us, crossed the platform and boarded the other train. A ridiculous thing to do, really, as this would only shave a few minutes from our journey time. Sure enough, though, we were soon moving again.

We exited Aldgate station and headed west, turning down Fenchurch Street until we reached Fen Court, where we stopped to look at the 'Gilt of Cain', which is a sculpture that commemorates the abolition of the slave trade. 

It is a remarkable piece. Composed of a granite podium, with steps, and columns that are shaped like sugar cane acting as a congregation. Each column is etched with lines from the poem 'Gilt of Cain', by Lemn Sissay.

We then made our way towards Fenchurch Street station, where we purchased some hot food, which we ate on the benches on Fenchurch Place. 

Suitably filled with energy we made our way back to Fenchurch Street and turned down St Katherine's Row and through French Ordinary Court. This eventually brought us out onto Crutched Friars and, then, Savage Gardens which brought us to Trinity Square. I do love the City of London's street names.

Crossing Tower Hill we stopped to take some photos of His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, spotting some of the poppy installation flowing down the wall of the Medieval castle.

From here we headed down to the River Thames and onto Three Quays Walk. The light was fading as we reached the river, making Tower Bridge really stand out, with its lights illuminating its profile. Sugar Quay Jetty offered the perfect place to grab some photos of the bridge, HMS Belfast and The Shard.

Approaching Grant's Quay Wharf we noticed that the top of The Shard had lights running up its uppermost levels, signalling the time was now 19:00.

London Bridge, like the rest of the bridges we would see, was illuminated with coloured lights, reflecting off the turbulent waters of the outgoing tide.

Walking with family: Westminster to Lambeth... and beyond

Tuesday December 10, 2024.

With a week off from work, and my girls being in school, I decided on a trip to London, inviting my mum and my uncle Martin along. Unfortunately my um couldn't make it, so it was just Martina and I that made the trip.

Martin drove us to Croxley station, where we caught a Metropolitan line train to Finchley Road, where we changed to a Jubilee line train to complete our journey to Westminster station.

On exiting the station we headed across Westminster Bridge, dodging the hordes of tourists that often congregate here as they jostle to get their perfect photo of the Elizabeth Tower that houses Big Ben. Crossing to the east side of the bridge we headed down the steps, beside St Thomas' Hospital and the Covid Memorial Wall, heading along the Albert Embankment to our first stop of the day... the Garden Museum.

The Garden Museum is situated at the western end of Lambeth Road, next to Lambeth Palace, and is housed within the old St Mary-at-Lambeth church. The church closed in 1972 and was due foe demolition, but was saved, reopening in 1977 as the world's first Gardening Museum.

After a brief look around the small garden, we entered the church and began looking at the building and its exhibits. After a quick look around we purchased tickets and made our way up the 131 steps of the tower, to check out the view.

And what a view it was. Being beside the River Thames the view allowed for views along the river towards Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station. The Palace of Westminster and Lambeth Palace were great from this vantage point, which then allowed you to gaze across to the City of London, The Shard and Canary Wharf.

Suitably impressed with the view we made our way back down the tower and went off to the Garden Museum cafe to grab a coffee. Once we were refreshed, and suitably warmed up from being outside in the wind, we continued our tour of the museum. 

William Bligh's tomb and the Tradescant family tomb were situated in a small garden area, with its plant nursery and other graves. We visited the Ark gallery and the other various rooms and galleries. The shop had everything horticultural, but there were no books or leaflets on the history of the church itself. Fortunately, one of the volunteers at the shop informed us about a 'magic pink folder', held at the main reception, which contained lots of information. 

So, making our way to the main reception, we asked to view this 'magic pink folder'. It was stuffed with pages about the building, its history, various graves, snippets of information all gleaned from various sources. The lady at reception was more than happy for us to take photos of various pages, which we did. After reading what we wanted we returned the 'magic pink folder' to reception, thanked the lady and made our way outside, ready to continue our walk.

We headed down Lambeth Road, passing the Novotel Hotel, which was once Norfolk House, home of the Howard family. This hotel is next to the Bell Building, which stands on the site of the Bell Inn, which was built in 1560.

View From The Shard

The View from The Shard.

Saturday, August 10, 2019.

It was a perfect Saturday morning as my wife and I made our way to The Unfinished City. 

Our first stop was Borough Market, as usual, for a look around and to find something to eat. Once fully fuelled we headed to the George Inn, for a well deserved drink, before taking a slow walk around the area, taking in the sights.

As we arrived at The Shard, the wind started to pick up speed and was now gusting at 50mph. We made our into the foyer, a few minutes early, and were ushered into the Security Area, where belts, phones and other metal objects were removed, while bags were scanned. After stepping through the metal detector, and having collected our belongings, we made our way to the first of two lifts which would take us to the viewing platforms.

The first lift took us up to the 32nd floor, at a speed of 6m/s. We then transferred to our second elevator and, within moments, we were up at the viewing platform, on the 69th floor. A few flights of stairs then took us up to the Open air Skydeck on the 72nd floor.

After snapping a few photos we decided to collect our complimentary glass of Champagne, before looking at the view properly. By now the wind was blowing a gale, which caused the structure to sway gently. As the Open air Skydeck is, well, open air, some champagne glasses were being blown from the highly polished bar, before shattering on the floor.

The views are spectacular and were, for the most part, unobscured by clouds, due to the hurricane blasting them away.

We soon made our way back down to the Indoor viewing gallery, where, now enclosed, we weren't buffeted by the wind, allowing for steadier photographs to be taken.

Before we finished our tour, we both decided to use the facilities: Using a toilet, 68 storeys up, that has floor to ceiling windows is an incredible, if peculiar, feeling.

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Len's 53rd birthday: Baker Street to Borough Market... and beyond

Saturday September 7, 2013.

As has become customary, Len, Steve and myself headed off to London to celebrate Len’s birthday. Arriving at Baker Street, we took a slow walk along the Marylebone Road, turning in to Park Crescent and onto Portland Place. 

As we passed the BBC Broadcasting House, I pointed out the Dalek guarding the BBC Canteen. Seeing as both Steve and Len had never been inside, we headed in. The BBC Shop, which was due to open on September 1st still wasn’t open, so Steve settled for having his picture taken with the Dalek. We then continued our stroll by turning from Regent Street on to Margaret Street, so that we could grab a drink at the ‘Cock Tavern’ (1).

After our refreshment, we headed down Great Portland Street, crossed Oxford Street, headed along Argyll Street, crossed Great Marlborough Street and entered Carnaby Street, which is where we spotted the comedian, Sean Walsh. Still keeping a leisurely pace, we sauntered down Carnaby Street until we reached Beak Street. It was then that we noticed that many of the bars, that both Steve and I knew, were gone. Sacrilege! So, we turned on to Great Pulteney Street and headed for the ‘Vintage Magazine Shop’ on Brewer Street. 

After a damn good look around, I thought I would show Len and Steve my favourite Wine and Spirit shop. As we headed down Brewer Street to turn onto Rupert Street, we were passed by Simon ‘Scotty’ Pegg and his family. Unfortunately, due to the surprise of seeing him, I didn’t get a chance to say anything to him, so we continued on our way by turning on to Winnett Street and finally on to Old Compton Street, where ‘Gerry’s Wines & Spirits’ is situated. This was a place that my Dad had taken me to, many years ago, when he was looking for a special Vodka. Being a speciality shop, the prices on some items are truly astonishing, but it is still worth a visit.

The Shard

Reflections on a Shard of Glass.

Saturday September 7, 2013.

It was while on another walk around Southwark and the surrounding area, that I found myself on St Thomas Street. As I walked eastward towards The Horseshoe Inn, I looked up and realised that I was directly below The shard.

Having only really seen it from the north bank, and from afar, I couldn't help but snap this shot from this odd angle, with the clouds reflected in the thousands of glass panels.

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