| Southwark and Bankside tips and photos posted by real travelers and London locals.
Southwark, SE1
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Located in a spectacular setting on the River Thames, beside Tower Bridge and opposite the Tower of London, is City Hall.
Housed in an impressive rounded glass building, City Hall is the home of the Mayor of London, along with the Greater London Authority and the London Assembly. They moved into this modern building in July 2002.
City Hall is open to the public from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and on occasional weekends. You can walk along the spiral ramp inside or visit the exhibition space which has a view over the Assembly Chamber where public meetings are held. Leave a Comment
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Southwark Cathedral is the oldest Gothic church in London. It is thought to have been founded back in 606, though was rebuilt in 1212 after a fire destroyed most of it, and became a cathedral (instead of just a church) in 1905.
This impressive building is located just near London Bridge, next to Borough Market - in fact the benches in the cathedral's garden are popular with people who have bought their lunch at the markets.
The building is shaped like a cross, and is split into several sections. The oldest section, the Retro-Choir is to the east, and trials used to take place here in the 16th century.
When we visited the cathedral one Saturday, we were warmly greeted at the door by one of the 'Cathedral Welcomers' - a nice older lady who gave us a brochure on the cathedral and showed us the William Shakespeare monument and stained glass window.
The cathedral was filled with people - but not tourists - instead there was a choir setting up for a performance and a group of ladies meeting for a coffee morning. It was great to see it filled with light and activity.
There is no charge to visit the cathedral, though there is a small fee if you would like to do an audio tour. Leave a Comment
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This is a "must see activity" I have only ever seen from a distance. Battle ships don't really interest me but I suppose there are plenty of people who would be interested. Anyway, it's a famous WWII battle ship located by Tower Bridge. This photo was taken from The Monument and also shows the Greater London Authority building (the strange shaped shiny structure in the middle of the pic)
Its open every day of the year except 24th, 25th and 26th Dec. Tickets are £7 for adults and under 16s are free. Check the website for special rates for groups etc.
***UPDATE 10/07/08***
I have recently been aboard the HMS Belfast and thoroughly enjoyed it. Tickets are now £10 per adult but well worth it as there is so much to see on this massive ship you need a couple of hours at least!. There are seemingly miles and miles of decks with excellent exhibits and lifelike models of sailors doing their various jobs aboard the ship as they would have done when it was a fully working battle ship. Kids love it, and it's great fun going up and down those steep narrow ladder/stairs! Be careful though... slippery when wet! (And it could be a little tricky for those with mobility impairments or very small children). Leave a Comment
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 golden hinde by sylvie-uk
It was built in 1973 and has itself navigated around the world.
It has a living history program and museum.
You can also hire the boat as a venue. Leave a Comment
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 Vinopolis by sourbugger
Maybe, but whenever I taste wine of a bottle of plonk the bouquet seems to resemble the insides of a Datsun Minicab, circa 1978.
"Vinopolis" is an attraction on the South Bank that is dedicated to wine. The site takes you through various displays detailing the different types of wine and wine growing areas of the world. The displays are soundly put together, if perhaps a little 'dry' in places. I did however like some of the little touches like a row of vespas you could sit on with a head-up display to look at Italian vineyards.
The Audio guide works well, but the real highlight is the five tastings that you get as you wander round.
Make sure you are using public transport when you leave !
At 15 pounds (booked online) it's not cheap, but acceptable when you consider you are getting 5 drinks (25mls) plus a gin cocktail in the price. Leave a Comment Directions: Vinopolis is situated overlooking the river on Bankside, close to Southwark Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe and Tate Modern.Website: www.vinopolis.co.uk
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 southwark cathedrale by sylvie-uk
It s quit difficult to have a good look at it as the railway passes very close and blocks the views from the south side.
The main structure was built between 1220 and 1420.
It used to be a parish church and became a cathedrale early in the 20th century. Leave a Comment
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If Canada had military conscription, I would probably have picked the Navy as my choice for service, but such was not the case! While touring the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, I took the opportunity of also squeezing in a visit to HMS 'Belfast', permanently anchored not far away.
HMS 'Belfast' is a ~13,000 ton light cruiser armed with twelve 6-inch guns in four turrets as her main armament. Lauched on St. Patrick's Day, 1938 she went into service in August, 1939 on the eve of World War 2 but only lasted a few months before suffering severe damage from striking a mine in the North Sea. The resulting refit kept the 'Belfast' out of action until late 1942, when she returned to service patrolling the North Atlantic and Arctic sea routes. On Boxing Day, 1943 the 'Belfast' was involved in a naval trap and battle that resulted in the sinking of the German pocket-battleship 'Scharnhorst' by a British battleship during an attack by the German ship on a decoy convoy off the coast of Norway. Later action by the cruiser involved on-shore bombardment during the D-Day landings in 1944 and she had a close call toward the end of the war when a German U-boat had her in it's sights in the North Sea but decided not to fire because the war was almost over. The final action of the 'Belfast' was shore bombardment during the Korean War, with her being damaged by return artillary fire during one such engagement in 1952. After surviving these various close-calls, the 'Belfast' was retired from the Royal Navy in 1963 and converted to her present state as a museum ship in 1971, run by the Imperial War Museum. These old photos have not done well in surviving their 3-years spent in hot and humid Papua New Guinea! Leave a Comment Directions: Across the Thames from the Tower of London and half-way between the Tower Bridge and London Bridge
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 Gabriel s warf by sylvie-uk
This place is really lively in the summer time as you can see some open-air events.
I went for a meal a few time at the pizzeria at the left entrance of the place, food is ok with great view on the Thames.
It s situated between waterloo and london bridge on the south bank. Leave a Comment Directions: Southwark tube
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 by sylvie-uk
i ve personaly not visited it, i m just simply not attracted but i m sure some of you would enjoy.
mars-oct: 10 to 17.15h
nov-feb:10 to 16.15h
closed 24dec to 6 jan.
free for children of 15 and under and i think it s about £4 for the visit Leave a Comment
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 by Mariajoy
Adult tickets are 8.50GBP and it is open daily from 10am-5pm with the last admission at 4pm. Leave a Comment
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