Today I thought I'd combine two things - a walk and a visit to Southwark Cathedral's Christmas Fair. Because I always walk on the Southbank side of the Thames I decided to add to my Thames Path journey by walking a small section on the north side. This is what I did.
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Tributes to Nelson Mandela outside the
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank |
The stretch I had chosen was Hungerford Bridge to London Bridge. So arriving on the south side I crossed Hungerford Bridge and began my walk on the north side. I have to admit that there is less to see on this side and at one point just past St Paul's Cathedral I had to leave the river as the path runs out but soon I was back. It is also a lot quieter this side than the south bank, where just now the Christmas market is in full swing. There are a few gardens on the first stretch but I'd need to cross the road and it wasn't exactly the day for sitting in gardens. It wasn't cold but it was very overcast and grey. I walked under a lot of bridges - Waterloo, Blackfriars, Millennium and Southwark before coming to London Bridge. There are offices and a few restaurants along the way but mainly there is a lot of concrete and glass!
At London Bridge I left the path to visit St Magnus Martyr Church where the old Roman entrance to the bridge runs through the churchyard. I visited this church some years ago on a walking tour and was impressed with it, mainly for the replica of the bridge when it had houses and shops on it. Today there was a small service taking place so I didn't feel I could take photos inside. It's quite a dark church, lots of wood paneling and reminds me of a Catholic Church due to the elaborate painted statues, Mary with a real black lace veil. There was a confessional box too. But this is a Church of England church and it feels very old (foundation around 1100). There is a monument to Miles Coverdale who oversaw the production of the first complete Bible in English (printed in Zurich in 1535) and the first authorised version (the Great Bible printed in London in 1539). The clock outside was a London landmark but is now crowded in by other buildings. It was presented to the church on 1709.
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| Outside St Magnus Martyr Church |
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| Underneath the Millennium Bridge |
After my detour I walked over London Bridge to Southwark Cathedral. There were a group of foreign students congregating on the steps going down to the path to the Cathedral. What a silly place to meet. No one could past without pushing through. So inconsiderate as there was plenty of room at the bottom to meet. I headed for the Refectory for a nice bowl of mushroom soup, bread, a butterscotch and walnut cookie and a pot of tea! I even managed to fit in a few pages of my latest read - Gareth Malone's book on classical music. It's really interesting.
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| The clock of St Magnus |
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| St Magnus |
The Cathedral Christmas Fair was held in the corridor between the Cathderal, shop and Refectory as well as one of the side rooms and out in the courtyard which was covered with a marquee. Great stalls with interesting gift ideas like homemade soaps, knitwear, jewellery, cards, ceramics and jams. They had mince pies and mulled wine and someone was playing a keyboard. There was also a group of hand bell ringers. It was well worth going to and I ended up finally getting a few Christmas presents. So I am very pleased. It was a nice half day out.
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