Hammersmith

Weather - Cloudy, sunny patches, cool - Min 10, Max 17

Our touring has come down to two strategies, one is to try and cover as much in one area as possible so we aren’t going back and forth over London and the second is to make hay while the sun shines and do as much as we can outdoors if it isn’t raining.

We woke to overcast skies but the day brightened by the afternoon. The area we chose today was the Southwark/London Bridge area on the south bank visiting the Tower Bridge, the Borrough Markets and Southwark Cathedral.

Locating ourselves at Hammersmith has been a good move as it’s so easy to catch the different train lines. It took us twenty minutes to arrive at Tower Hill Station where it sits directly beside the Tower of London. It was a good sight to see as we emerged from the station with the grassy moat surrounding the castle walls and The Shard, the tallest building the in the UK in the distance.

We walked around the moat of the castle onto the Tower Bridge. The view from the bridge up and down The Thames River was spectacular. 

We chose to visit the attraction inside the bridge’s towers. This initially started by climbing 206 steps to the high level walkways which link the towers.

The attraction was worth the visit as it had the history of the construction of the bridge. The walkways which link the towers had two 12m long glass floors so we could see 34m down to the busy bridge road and the river below. Henk took the photo of me whilst he stood firmly on the floor outside the glass.

Interestingly, the Tower Bridge lifts about 800 times per year and boats only need to give the bridge 24 hours notice by email. Some quirky laws still exist such as this one where a bale of hay is hung if there are workers on the bridge. 

From the Tower Bridge we made our way to the south bank to Butlers Wharf as I had read that it was the best vantage point to take a photo of the bridge. We found the narrow Horselydown Old Stairs which led onto the stony bank of the Thames. The tide was out so we could walk along the entire bank. 

I walked further down the bank to the underbelly of the wharf where the old posts are covered in moss. The wharf building above is now filled with luxury apartments and restaurants.

By this time it was approaching lunch so we made our way walking alongside the Thames River to the historic Borrough Markets, London’s oldest food market. It was about a twenty minute walk.

We walked passed the unimpressive London Bridge and I remembered the song ‘London Bridge is Falling Down.’ 

We loved the markets. It was crowded and Tuesday is apparently not a busy day.

We soon realised that everything was takeaway with very few seats to sit down for eating. The wide range of food being sold was mind boggling and included cheeses, meats, vegetables, olives, oils, truffles, artisan breads and so much more. It was endless. It was a maze of stalls and passageways. 

Henk and I opted for a wild mushroom risotto which was being made by three men with extra large cooking woks. It was tasty and hit the spot. We managed to find a small seat on the outskirts of the market. 

We then ventured off to find the area which sold all the cakes and sweets and came across chocolate strawberries in a cup being sold. We immediately lined up. The cost of £9 for each one ($18A) was worth it. 

Next to the markets is the impressive Southwark Cathedral built between 1220 and 1420 after being severely damaged by the Great Fire of London in 1212. It managed to survive WWII despite the area being heavily bombed. We saw a notice which said the cathedral was being closed for the afternoon for a school ceremony and we had half an hour to visit before the doors closed. I took a panoramic photo of the impressive nave.

William Shakespeare is the most famous resident of the parish of Southwark and leadlight windows featuring his plays and a sculpture are dedicated to him and his plays.

Close to the Southwark Cathedral is The Shard.

By mid afternoon we decided to return to Hammersmith and call it a day. We walked over the London Bridge to catch the train from Monument station. As we had a large lunch we had toasted sandwiches again for dinner. It was a great first day of sightseeing.