Part 7 - London Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral (2 Km) - Across London Visual Marathon

philip carey
Jan 26, 2023
2 min read

Updated: May 28, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Start at London Bridge Station

Finish at St Paul's Station

THE EXPERIENCE

A relaxed riverside jaunt past markets, cityscapes, and cathedrals.

This 2 Km section of the Across London Visual Marathon takes you from London Bridge Station through Borough Market, along the south side of the river. This area was the City of London’s first entertainment area with playhouses, bearpits and other sources of entertainment. One of the consequences of the Great Fire of (the City of) London of 1666 was that the entertainment district moved to the new developments in Covent Garden, Soho and Leicester Square. Today, the area has reverted to its entertainment roots, with Borough Market, Shakespeare’s Globe, and Tate Modern taking centre stage. The route also has fantastic river views, cityscapes, museums, and two cathedrals.

Good for history and iconic sights, cityscapes, food markets, museums, entertainment venues, culture, art, fantastic riverside views, sunrise/sunsets, and cathedrals. It is also supported by numerous eating and drinking spots along the way.

St Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge

MUST SEE PLACES

What to See List

1 London Bridge

2 Borough Market

3 Golden Hind and Southwark Cathedral

4 Clink Prison Museum

5 Bankside Views

6 Shakespeare’s Globe

7 Tate Modern

8 Millennium Bridge

9 St Paul’s Cathedral

10 One New Change

Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry

1. Borough Market

2. Borough High Street

3. Around the Monument

4. Around Leadenhall Market

5. Around Tower 42

6. Southwest of St Paul’s Cathedral

7. East of Bank Station

8. Around Cannon Street Station

9. Along & Around Watling Street

10. Around One New Change

BEST TIME

Morning - Most of this route will be busy as it is popular. The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.

Day - Most of this route will be busy during the day.

Evenings - Quieter during the evening.

ROUTE OVERVIEW

This route starts from London Bridge Station and skirts around Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral before making its way past the Golden Hind and the Clink Museum to emerge on Bankside with views across to the City of London. It goes under Southwark Bridge, past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Tate Britain, before crossing Millennium Bridge and finishing off St Paul's Cathedral.

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My Google Map Link

Strava Link

DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY

This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see its full size.

INTERESTING FACTS

Route Facts Pat 1

Southwark Cathedral

This was initially known as St. Mary Overie when it was a priory in 1106. It stood at the oldest crossing point of the River Thames at the only entrance to the City of London from the south. It was renamed St Saviour’s after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, and it became Southwark Cathedral in 1905. The diocese goes from Kingston-upon-Thames in the west to Thamesmead in the east and Gatwick Airport in the south.

The Golden Hind

The Golden Hind was the galleon captained by Sir Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. This is a full-size replica of the ship, built by the traditional method and launched in 1973. She has travelled more than 140,000 miles around the world before being berthed here in 1996 at St Mary Overie Dock in Bankside, Southwark. Today, she is open to the public and hosts various educational programmes.

Millennium Bridge

Opened by the Queen in 2000, the Millennium Bridge was the first new bridge to be built over the Thames for more than 100 years. It was nicknamed the Wobbly Bridge due to a design fault that produced a wobbling effect called Synchronous Lateral Excitation – since fixed. It is a pedestrian suspension bridge linking St Paul’s with the Tate Modern, but the cables are at the side, so the view is not obstructed.

Sunrise from the Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge is the perfect place to capture a London sunrise over the City of London. Between October and the beginning of March, you can catch the sunrise between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning when the conditions are right. During the winter, the sun rises to the right of Tower Bridge; during the summer, it's to the left. Always try to get there before sunrise, as the sky is a picture in itself.

City of London Skyscrapers

Millennium Bridge is one of the best places to view the City of London skyline and the changing vista of its modest skyscrapers. The buildings shown here are, from left to right, Tower 42, 22 Bishopsgate (the tallest), The Cheesegrater (also called 122 Leadenhall Street), and The Scalpel (52-54 Lime Street). The skyline has changed since this picture was taken, and more buildings are being planned.

Route Facts Part 2

London Bridge

There has been a bridge here since the Romans arrived in London in AD44. Old London Bridge was built in 1209 and lasted until 1831. By the 1400s, there were 200 houses built along its length and its entrance gate had the heads of those executed put on spikes for all to see. This current bridge dates from 1973, and the previous London Bridge is now in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Tate Modern

The Tate Modern houses Britain’s national gallery of international modern art. It is based in the former Bankside Power Station, decommissioned in 1981. The Tate Modern has over a hundred years of art, from modernism in the early 1900s to exciting new works from new artists. The new ten-storey building called the Switch House/Blavatnik Building opened in 2016. The Tate is free to enter.

College of Arms

The College of Arms on Queen Victoria Street by Peter’s Hill is the official ‘heraldic’ authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and much of the Commonwealth. In addition to granting new coats of arms, genealogical research, and recording pedigrees, it is also the official body responsible for flying flags on land. Richard III established it in 1484 to help legitimise his reign.

St Paul’s Cathedral

A church has been on this site since AD 604, and it sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point in the City of London. The current building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1710 (after the old one was burnt down in 1666). Its iconic dome is 364 feet high and is one of the largest cathedral domes in the world. Until 1963, it was the tallest building in London and the second-largest church building in the UK.

Borough Market T

This is one of London's largest and oldest food markets, dating back to the 11th century. It's a great market to visit and explore on market days. It is right next to London Bridge Station and has a wholesale market on weekday mornings from 2 am to 8 am and a retail market (mainly selling speciality foods to the general public) from 10 am to 5 pm. The present buildings date from the 1850s.

The Shard

The Shard, also known as the Shard of Glass, is the UK’s largest skyscraper and is situated by London Bridge Station. It was designed by the architect Renzo Piano, who also created Paris’s Pompidou Centre.

The Shard was built in July 2012, is 309.6 metres high, and was the tallest building in the European Union until late 2020. The Shard was wildly over budget, costing $2,123,286,000 rather than $619,291,750.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

This 1997 reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre is one street from where the actual theatre once stood. The Globe is a living monument to the playwright William Shakespeare and home to productions of his plays, and it is also an educational centre and cultural landmark. The original theatre was built in 1599, destroyed by a fire in 1613, and rebuilt in 1614. The new Globe is very similar in design but with modern sound and lighting.

Lloyd’s of London and Willis Tower Watson

The Lloyds Building (designed by Richard Rogers) and the Willis Building (designed by Norman Foster) are on Fenchurch Street.. The Willis Building features a “stepped” design, which was intended to resemble the shell of a crustacean, whilst the “inside out” Lloyds Building has its critical service routed on its outside walls.

Fishmonger’s Hall

Fishmongers’ Hall by London Bridge is the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers – a guild of fish and seafood sellers in the City – and one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. The Company has been in existence since 1272. This is their fourth hall, and it opened in 1834 when London Bridge was moved and rebuilt. Fishmongers’ Hall contains many treasures, some dating back to the 1380s.

Paternoster Square

The area takes its name from Paternoster Row, which was once the centre of London’s publishing trade. On 29th December 1940, the buildings on Paternoster Row were destroyed by the Blitz bombings, but St Paul’s Cathedral remained largely intact. The square was developed in 1956 and again in 2003. It is now the location of the London Stock Exchange, which relocated there from Threadneedle Street in 2004. The central column serves as a ventilation shaft. Temple Bar is the last surviving gateway to the City of London. It used to stand across Fleet Street by Temple as this was the historic royal ceremonial route from the Tower of London to the Palace of Westminster, the two chief residences of the medieval English monarchs. The original Temple Bar is now at the entry to Paternoster Square, behind St Paul's Cathedral. The Bar was also used from 1293 to regulate trade into the City of London

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA

Click on the picture below to take a 360-degree virtual tour of the area.

Use the black route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.