Nowadays Southwark is in London but 500 years ago it lay outside City control, an area of Anything Goes. South of London Bridge was the county of Surrey, but the sheriff's job was made hard by private estates with their own systems of law. This was the place to be if you were on the run. The market was outside the City so prices were cheaper driving City authorities wild. Travellers and pilgrims came from far and wide, Bankside was nightlife area renowned for gaming, theaters and brothels.
Southwark Gateway Needle or your hotel
Where the fire of 1666 began
From here walk across London Bridge
Tower of London, the Belfast
Shopping arcade by the river
Spectacular food and people-watching
17th-century coaching inn
Where Chaucer set the Canterbury Tales
Former graveyard of the poor now a shrine
The Globe Theatre, Tudor entertainment district
Entry hall just to see the space of an ex-power station
View to St Paul's Cathedral
Trig stairs and passageway east
View to Bankside
Blackfriars Station or your hotel
Guide fee
Transport, food, drinks, souvenirs
I'm a guide for walking tours; I don't have a car.
Walking tour, wear good shoes
This is a walking tour with stairs to climb up and down.