Itinerary #2: A Walk Along the River

This intinerary includes Borough Market, Thames walk, Tate Modern, Millennium Bridge, St. Paul’s, and Paternoster Square. You could do this itinerary in either direction, but make sure you’re hungry when you go to Borough Market.

Nearest Tube stops are London Bridge, Borough, and Southwark. Borough Market is a large, covered (but open) food market located in Central London. It’s sort of a combination of a farmer’s market, with fresh produce/meat/cheese on sale, and a food hall, with vendors selling freshly prepared dishes of all types. I could personally spend several months eating my way through this place. We like to walk around and get some samples, then grab something interesting for lunch. The major downside of Borough Market is that I’ve never been when it wasn’t super crowded; however, I do think it’s worth a stop.

Tips:
1. It gets a little less crowded on the periphery of the market. Look for signs to the bathroom or ask directions, and you should eventually find yourself out of the fray.
2. They have some “stands” toward the rear of the market where you can sit down to eat.
3. The bathrooms are right around the corner from the stands. The lines can be quite long but hey, if you gotta go, you gotta go.

Ed’s English Tip
Have a sausage, egg, and bacon (or any combination thereof) “buttie” or “bap”, a sandwich often consumed for breakfast or at any time you want to exceed your fat content for the day in less than 15 minutes (and/or hungover)

Leave Borough Market and head toward the river walk along the Thames. You’ll find any number of interesting things along this route, from the HMS Belfast to a re-creation of the Globe theater. The Anchor (34 Park Street) is a decent pub.

Possible side-stop: The London Dungeons are a tourist attraction very close to Borough Market. We’ve never done this (way too scary for my girls), so I don’t know what it’s like. But if creepy is your thing, it’s right there.

You will shortly come upon the Tate Modern, which is a massive contemporary art museum. One of the many great things about London’s museums is that entrance is free (excluding special exhibits). You could easily spend all day here, hit only a gallery or two, just pop your head in to take a look, or keep right on going.

Ed’s English Tip
While your family exhausts themselves walking around the Tate Modern, wait for them in The Anchor and have a pint or two.

Note: The next stop takes you over the Thames and away from the river walk, but you could also choose to keep going. There are lots of restaurants, shops, and interesting things to see, including a Christmas market in December. If you keep going, you’ll find yourself back at the Eye…about a 30-minute walk.

This large steel suspension bridge is easy to spot. Our kids always think walking across it is cool, and you get great views of the city. There are also hundreds of tiny pieces of art embedded in the bridge that an artist called The Chewing Gum man made out of gum he found on the street (yuck). They are fun to find as you walk.

As you’re crossing, you’ll see St. Paul’s Cathedral straight ahead. Continue straight on toward it, as this is where you’re headed.

St. Paul’s is definitely worth a visit, and I highly recommend taking a tour and climbing to the top. There’s a “whispering gallery” in the dome, where people in your group can sit on opposite sides of the room, whisper toward the wall, and hear each other clear as day. Pretty cool. The only issue is that it becomes difficult to hear when crowded…too many voices. The very top has great views of London. If you’re visiting at a busy time of year, I highly recommend buying a “skip the line” ticket. There’s a café on the bottom level with basic tea, coffee, etc.; however, if you’re hungry, our next stop – Paternoster Square – is a better choice.

Directly opposite (on same side of the street) is the entrance to Paternoster Square, which is nothing particularly special but a good place to take a break and get coffee or a bite to eat. There are a number of restaurants there and also a Starbucks. There’s also always something going on in the square…ping-pong tables, mini-golf, an obstacle course. You never quite know what it will be.

Ed’s English Tip
Look for an ice cream van (often a Mr. Whippy) just outside the square and order a “99”, which is a vanilla soft serve ice cream with a chocolate flake stuck in it. Delicious! You can find these all over London, but the Paternoster Square truck has yummy ice cream.

From Paternoster, you’ll find yourself very close to the St. Paul’s tube stop, which is on the Central line and an easy way to head toward whatever your next destination may be.

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• n_haines@bellsouth.net