N.B. this walk will not take place on the following dates:
25-12-2024
Introduction
Unfamiliar London – memories of the days when Bermondsey was at the heart of the biggest port in the world. Victorian warehouses, old docks – still there but adapting to the C21. See it before it changes.
Walking Tour Practicals
Meeting time: Every Wednesday at 10.45 am
Meeting point: Bermondsey Tube Station
Price: £15 per person (full adult)
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Don’t just take it from us…
Itinerary
Leave the traffic and the tube station and within minutes you’re walking along a historic riverside street. It’s still, calm, and there are wonderful views across the Thames to Wapping, downriver to Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe, and upriver to Tower Bridge and the new tall buildings of the City of London. You are only minutes from Central London but it is a world away from its bustle.
Shad Thames
A bridge by the riverfront over St Saviour’s dock takes you to Shad Thames, its warehouses once full of grain and spices, now transformed into expensive apartments. This street is full of history and features dating back to Victorian times, with its Grade II listed warehouses, cobbled street and overhead iron bridges. You will discover how this part of London once was the heart of the trade of the city, where exotic commodities such as tea and coffee were stored.
When in the C20 the new huge container ships couldn’t sail this far up the Thames, the port moved away down river. But in the 1980s and 1990s the area was regenerated where warehouse conversions became new homes. To help bring back life to the heart of Shad Thames, restaurateur Sir Terence Conran opened well-known restaurants including Le Pont de la Tour and Butler’s Wharf Chop House. For those looking for the Design Museum, its first home is here, but it moved from Shad Thames to Kensington in 2016, to an amazing structural design and should not be missed!
Shad Thames and its criss-cross walkways
Butlers Wharf
This brings us to Butlers Wharf and Tea Trade Wharf. Both iconic buildings on the River Thames, overlooking St Katharine Docks. The Butlers Wharf building was completed in 1873 to house goods arriving at Butlers Wharf Pier for distribution all over the United Kingdom. As in much of the rest of the area, these buildings have been converted into luxury flats. As we walk around, you will be transported to a different era, when the south bank of the River Thames was an industrial hub, and Horselydown was the home of a favourite brewery.
Bermondsey
Turn inland to Tooley Street to see more of Bermondsey’s social history, the changes brought by the railway that turned it into ‘London’s larder’. Here are street names to remind you that for centuries Bermondsey’s biggest industry was leather tanning. The smell has gone, the names remain.
Southwark
Come back to the C21 as we pass the Shard, tallest building in London – for now.Its glittering peak dominates the surrounding area by London Bridge. And end just by London Bridge – for centuries the only way of crossing the river. Everyone used the bridge – merchants and visitors, kings and queens. Now you’re at the best place in London for a snack – Borough Market. This is foodie heaven – treat yourself to a toasted cheese sandwich.
Frequently asked questions
What can I do after the tour?
After a little snack at Borough Market, you can visit Southwark Cathedral then continue on to the South Bank, walking past Shakespeare’s Globe, the Tate and all the way to the National Theatre.
What the guide says
One of the reasons I love this walk is that people are always surprised. After all, they know what Buckingham Palace and Westminster look like – but often they have no idea of just how fascinating this part of London is. Bermondsey in its heyday was at the heart of the port of London. Its river banks were crowded with docks and shipping, its lanes with warehouses storing goods brought into the port.
The riverside in Bermondsey is now peaceful, with great views across to the City. The narrow street of Shad Thames seems unchanged since the dockers unloaded sacks of grain, and the magnificent warehouses of Butler’s Wharf stored tea, instead of restaurants.
There’s plenty of history to interest foodies – many household names manufactured jam, biscuits and canned food here. But the early industry was leather tanning, a process guaranteed to turn your stomach. And we’ll tell you all about it.
Dig a little deeper and find out how what was a country village became a slum, over which hung a ‘graveyard smell’. How it was transformed by industry, and how local pressure transformed it yet again – bringing in radical housing policies and pioneering health care long before the days of the NHS.
And to end, we can even offer you a really good Victorian murder.
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LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS
If you can’t make one of the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, Undiscovered London, Butlers Wharf and Shad Thames it can always be booked as a private tour. If you go private you can have the Undiscovered London, Butlers Wharf and Shad Thames walk – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. Ring Fiona or Mary on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you. A private London Walk – they’re good value for an individual or couple and sensational value for a group – makes an ideal group or educational or birthday party or office (team-building) or club outing.
GIVE THE GIFT OF LONDON WALKS
A private London Walk makes a fab gift – be it a birthday or anniversary or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich.
42 reviews for Undiscovered London, Butlers Wharf and Shad Thames
Rated 5 out of 5
Olivia –
We very much enjoyed our London Walk with Ann. She’s a fantastic guide and the two hours full of interesting and entertaining stories were over in no time. Highly recommend this walk to everyone interested in the lesser known parts of London.
Rated 5 out of 5
Camilla Thornton –
Being a born and bred Londoner I realised there was a lot I didn’t know about my own city. London Walks are perfect to learn. My guide yesterday was Ann. I loved her enthusiasm for her subject and boy does she know her stuff. Thank you Ann.
Rated 5 out of 5
Gusta G –
An excellent morning in the company of Ann, an informed and entertaining guide. I am a Londoner but still discovered new places not least the lovely square inside Guys hospital where we ended up. I would highly recommend this walk.
Rated 5 out of 5
Paul Grice –
A really interesting walk covering some rarely visited areas. Anne was a really good guide with some interesting insights into the area. Thoroughly recommended.
Rated 5 out of 5
Helen –
This was a wonderful and informative walk with Ann who is an excellent guide. This was another part of London I’d seen only bits off and it was wonderful to see more of it and learn about the history of it.
Rated 5 out of 5
Bridget Marry –
If you are familiar with the more well known tourist destinations in London and ready to explore an area off the beaten track then you will love this walk. Our knowledgable guide Ann told us of the fascinating social and industrial history linked with Bermondsey and this stretch of the Thames. Stories of key local figures such as the Salters will inspire you to dig deeper into these lives yourself. At the end of the walk, Ann generously shared tips about other things for the visitor to see and do in the area. Highly recommended, you will want to come back for more!
Rated 4 out of 5
Nadeem Khan –
Although a Londoner, I didn’t know much of Bermondsey. A delightful and charming walk. Ann’s gentle manner belies a keen intellect and obvious fascination with the rich history of the area. This particular ignoramus ended the walk, a little less so. The gloriously unexpected Thames views (suddenly apparent from a quiet backstreet) would be quite enough…
Rated 5 out of 5
Sue Poulton –
My friend and I went on Ann’s walk yesterday and cannot stress how much we enjoyed it. We both live near London and have done quite a few of your walks in the past, but did not know this area at all, but we do now! What an interesting history there is in Bermondsey and Ann took us through it all, making the area come alive. I cannot recommend this walk enough. Do go. You wont be disappointed
Rated 5 out of 5
judith plows –
Loved this walk which I did with two old school friends as it was an “unknown area”.
we learned so much, particularly enjoyed the history of the social housing and
learning about Arthur and Ade Salter and their “ahead of their times” housing reforms and medical provision. All stimulating stuff which we have since been researching, It opened up a whole new horizon beyond the familiar environs of London Bridge . Thank you .
Rated 5 out of 5
Anders Ljungberg –
This was interesting! Two hours learning about the history of Bermondsey. Ann who was engaging and interesting. And very knowledgeable. We even got to speak politics, which I enjoyed a lot. Excellent guided walk.
Reserve your place on Undiscovered London, Butlers Wharf and Shad Thames
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Olivia –
We very much enjoyed our London Walk with Ann. She’s a fantastic guide and the two hours full of interesting and entertaining stories were over in no time. Highly recommend this walk to everyone interested in the lesser known parts of London.
Camilla Thornton –
Being a born and bred Londoner I realised there was a lot I didn’t know about my own city. London Walks are perfect to learn. My guide yesterday was Ann. I loved her enthusiasm for her subject and boy does she know her stuff. Thank you Ann.
Gusta G –
An excellent morning in the company of Ann, an informed and entertaining guide. I am a Londoner but still discovered new places not least the lovely square inside Guys hospital where we ended up. I would highly recommend this walk.
Paul Grice –
A really interesting walk covering some rarely visited areas. Anne was a really good guide with some interesting insights into the area. Thoroughly recommended.
Helen –
This was a wonderful and informative walk with Ann who is an excellent guide. This was another part of London I’d seen only bits off and it was wonderful to see more of it and learn about the history of it.
Bridget Marry –
If you are familiar with the more well known tourist destinations in London and ready to explore an area off the beaten track then you will love this walk. Our knowledgable guide Ann told us of the fascinating social and industrial history linked with Bermondsey and this stretch of the Thames. Stories of key local figures such as the Salters will inspire you to dig deeper into these lives yourself. At the end of the walk, Ann generously shared tips about other things for the visitor to see and do in the area. Highly recommended, you will want to come back for more!
Nadeem Khan –
Although a Londoner, I didn’t know much of Bermondsey. A delightful and charming walk. Ann’s gentle manner belies a keen intellect and obvious fascination with the rich history of the area. This particular ignoramus ended the walk, a little less so. The gloriously unexpected Thames views (suddenly apparent from a quiet backstreet) would be quite enough…
Sue Poulton –
My friend and I went on Ann’s walk yesterday and cannot stress how much we enjoyed it. We both live near London and have done quite a few of your walks in the past, but did not know this area at all, but we do now! What an interesting history there is in Bermondsey and Ann took us through it all, making the area come alive. I cannot recommend this walk enough. Do go. You wont be disappointed
judith plows –
Loved this walk which I did with two old school friends as it was an “unknown area”.
we learned so much, particularly enjoyed the history of the social housing and
learning about Arthur and Ade Salter and their “ahead of their times” housing reforms and medical provision. All stimulating stuff which we have since been researching, It opened up a whole new horizon beyond the familiar environs of London Bridge . Thank you .
Anders Ljungberg –
This was interesting! Two hours learning about the history of Bermondsey. Ann who was engaging and interesting. And very knowledgeable. We even got to speak politics, which I enjoyed a lot. Excellent guided walk.