London Bridge to Bond Street & on to Hyde Park

National Rail: London Bridge Station for trains from Kent & Surrey; including Gatwick Airport.

Buses: 17, 43, 141, 21, 35, 40, 47, 133, 48, 149, 521, RV1. 343, 381,

Underground lines:  Northern Line (city branch) and Jubilee Line.

[1] Exit London Bridge station (A) via the glass doors to the left of the escalators/meeting point.  At the roadway (for buses and taxis) turn right past the ticket machines and coffee & food stalls. You then have cash machines on your right & an entrance to platforms 1-6. Just past here (next to the "Sweet Express" stall) turn right and go down the steps signed above – Tooley Street, Duke Street Hill, Underground, London Dungeon etc etc . At the bottom of the steps turn left back on yourself, go up a few steps and exit the station.

Using the pedestrian crossing immediately outside the station, cross the road. Go ahead slightly and turn left along the side street ahead of you, Tooley Street, that has St Olaf House (B) on the far side.  Continue along Tooley Street, walk under London Bridge (C). (on the far side of the bridge note the steep steps on the right – known locally as Nancy’s Steps - D)

[2] Pass the Mudlark Public House (E) and you come to the rear of Southwark Cathedral (F) on your left with a statue of a roman centurion (photo); the road bears left and at the first junction, turn right into Winchester Square. You’ll soon see the replica Golden Hinde ahead of you in St Mary Overie Dock. 

[3] Turn left along Pickford’s Wharf, go past the remains of Winchester Palace on your left (information board). The road becomes Clink Street (home to the Clink Prison Museum – G). At the end of the road (T-Junction with Premier Inn Hotel in front of you) turn right and then left in front of The Anchor Public House and along the Thames riverside walk.

[4] You are now on Bankside, continue under Southwark Bridge, pass Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (H) and pass under the Millenium Bridge (I). (St Paul’s Cathedral - J and photo can be seen clearly on the far side of the river). You have been walking along the Jubilee Greenway (K) since joining the Thames path.

You pass the Tate Modern Gallery /Museum on your left. (refreshments and toilets- L) and past the Founders Arms public house and ahead under the newly refurbished Blackfriars Railway Bridge and Blackfriars Road bridge with old river scenes on the tiled walls.

Past Doggett’s pub (M) and the OXO building (cafés and shops); up the slope past the small gardens and Gabriel’s Wharf (public toilets in yellow building on left far end of shopping area) on your left. You are now on the South Bank with The National Theatre on your left (across the Thames from here is Somerset House - N).

[5] Pass under Waterloo Bridge & The British Film Institute (toilets in and turn left after 2nd set of doors). Pass The Royal Festival Hall (O) and a selection of retail and restaurant outlets and reach Hungerford Bridge (trains and pedestrians),

[6] Ascend the staircase in front of you (alternative route avoiding steps- see below ) and turn right to cross the Thames. At the far side use the steps on the right to descend to street level. At the bottom of the steps turn right and go under the bridge.

Alternative route over the river avoiding the steps. Pass under Hungerford Bridge and use the lift to take you up to the walkway on the far side of the railway line. At the far side of the bridge, descend using the lift to street level.

[7] (Both routes) Turn right into Northumberland Avenue and go past The Playhouse Theatre on your right and ahead. Cross Northumberland Street (Sherlock Holmes pub) and continue ahead to the traffic lights and junction overlooking Trafalgar Square (& Nelson’s Column).

[8] Using the pedestrian lights cross left over Northumberland Avenue and then cross Whitehall, then right over the Mall.

[9] Turn left along Trafalgar Sq/Cockspur Street; soon crossing Spring Gardens and ahead into Pall Mall. Cross over Waterloo Place and continue along until you get to the Zebra Crossing (before Carlton Gardens) and cross Pall Mall and turn immediate right into St James’ Square

[10] Stay on the right hand pavement, cross Charles II Street, go left at the top of the square and right into Duke of York Street. 

[11] At the T-Junction, turn left onto Jermyn Street and cross to the far pavement. Go past The Princes Arcade (you could divert here through the arcade and left onto Piccadilly) and at the junction with Duke Street, St James’s turn right. (Fortnum & Mason’s here on right)  At the T-Junction with Piccadilly (P), turn left. (you are opposite the Royal Academy of Arts – Q ) Go past the Piccadilly Arcade on your left and at the pedestrian crossing, cross over Piccadilly.

[12] Turn left and immediate right up Old Bond Street (Mappin & Webb on your right  and De Beers on your left). Continue north up Old Bond Street (R) and directly into New Bond Street, crossing many side streets and passing the bronze statue called Allies of Churchill and Roosevelt seated on the paved area (photo). You come to Oxford Street (the department Store Debenhams faces you to the right).

[13] Turn left along Oxford Street, over Woodstock Street and the first entrance to Bond Street Underground is on your left.

[14] From Bond Street Station you will be marshaled to the Hyde Park arena by 2012 Games Makers 

(A) London Bridge Station opened in 1836 as the terminus of London's first railway line. It was originally two stations and this is still apparent in the combination of through and terminal platforms. The through platforms lie on the Kent and South East London routes into Charing Cross and Cannon Street. The remaining platforms are the final stop for routes from Sussex and South London. Today it serves nearly 50 million people every year.

(B) London Bridge  A bridge has existed at or near the present site since the Roman occupation nearly 2000 years ago. The current bridge  was opened on 17 March 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II.  This replaced the 'New' London Bridge built in 1831 by engineer John Rennie.  By 1962, the 'new' bridge could not cope with the increased load of modern traffic and was sold in 1967 by the City of London to an American, Robert McCulloch who rebuilt it as a very successful tourist attraction in Arizona.  London legend has it that McCulloch thought he was purchasing Tower Bridge. Before this, a stone bridge 'Old' London Bridge replaced earlier wooden bridges in 1209.  This was lined by almost 200 shops and businesses while the gatehouse at the south end was used to display the heads of traitors including William Wallace and Thomas More.  

(C) Tooley Street St Olaf House on the right was designed by H S Goodhart-Rendel for the Hays Wharf Company in 1928-32 as offices and warehousing, replacing St Olave's Church (1088-1928). Some features, including the alignment of Old London Bridge, are marked by strips in the pavement. The southern end of the current bridge is supported on an arch retained from its predecessor designed by John Rennie in 1831. There are some light features in the pavements under the bridge. The steps on the west side are known as Nancy's Steps (D).  There are some more stones from old London Bridge in this area. Until 1905 Southwark Cathedral was the parish church of St Saviour. It now has an attractive courtyard, refectory and glazed walkway on this side.

(D) Nancy’s Steps from Dickens Oliver Twist; there is a plaque affixed to Glazier’s Hall adjacent.

(E) Mudlark Pub  A Mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value>  They were especially common in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries when they would search in the muddy shores of the River Thames during low tide, looking for coal,, bits of iron or anything that could be resold and sometimes, when occasion offered, pilfering from river traffic. Mudlarks were usually boys of between 8 -15 or elderly men; this was not a women’s job.

(F) Southwark Catherdral It is believed there has been a church on this site since AD 606. It is the oldest cathedral church building in London and archaeological evidence shows there was Roman pagan worship here well before that. Significantly, Southwark stands at the oldest crossing point of the tidal Thames at what was the only entrance to the City of London across the river for many centuries. www.cathedral.southwark.anglican.org

(G) The Clink Prison Museum is built upon the original site of the Clink Prison. The Prison dates back to 1144 making it one of England’s oldest, if not the oldest prison. Owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the Clink Prison was used to control the Southbank of London known as “The Liberty of The Clink”. This area housed much of London’s entertainment establishments including four theatres, bull-baiting, bear-baiting, inns and many other darker entertainments. www.clink.co.uk

(H) The Globe Theatre The Globe stands a few hundred yards from its original site. The American actor and director Sam Wanamaker founded the project to rebuild Shakespeare’s Globe after his first visit to London in 1949. Twenty-one years later he founded what was to become the Shakespeare Globe Trust, he died in 1993 having secured the site but three and a half years before the theatre was completed. The Globe was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in June 1997. 

(I) The Millennium Bridge was opened in June 2000.  It was first new Thames crossing since Tower Bridge in 1894. It earned its nicknamed the "Wobbly Bridge" after participants in a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children felt an unexpected, swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely.  The bridge alignment is such that a clear view of St Paul's south facade is presented from across the river, framed by the bridge supports. Designed by architect Sir Norman Foster with sculptor Sir Anthony Caro and engineers Arup  www.urban75.org.  It is 330m long, 4m wide and 10.8m above the river at high tide. 

(J) St Paul’s Cathedral  The present St Paul's is the fifth cathedral to have stood on the site since 604, and was built between 1675 and 1710, after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. The architect of St Paul's was Sir Christopher Wren who was not only an architect but also an astronomer, scientist and mathematician. Among the events marked at St Paul's are significant royal occasions. In 1897 Queen Victoria chose to commemorate her diamond jubilee here. More recently Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated her silver, golden and now diamond jubilees at St Paul's as well as her 80th birthday in 2006. Royal weddings have been held here as well from the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur in 1501 to the wedding of HRH the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. As the nation's church, St Paul's has also been the site of state funerals for British heros, including Admiral Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and the wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill.

( K ) The Jubilee Greenway Walk marks Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, being celebrated in 2012. This 37 mile walking and cycling route is exactly 60 kilometres long - one kilometre for each year of Her Majesty's reign. It links many of London’s Olympic Games venues. It makes use of existing walking and cycling routes wherever possible.  It begins at Buckingham Palace and goes through Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens Royal Parks to Paddington Station and the Grand Union Canal at Little Venice. It follows the Regents Canal through Camden, Islington and Hackney and then connects to East London through Victoria Park to the River Thames where the Woolwich Foot Tunnel ties Greenwich and the South Bank to the Jubilee Walkway at Tower Bridge and back to St James’ via Westminster. www.walklondon.org.uk

(L) Tate Modern  The building is the former Bankside Power Station, which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Battersea Power Station, and built in two stages between 1947 and 1963. The power station closed in 1981. It is now Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives and Tate Online). It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year.

(M) Doggetts Coat & Badge Public House  For almost 300 years (since 1715), there has been an amateur rowing race on the Thames, from London Bridge to Chelsea (4 miles 5 furlongs / 7,400 m). Originally organised by Thomas Doggett, the winner was awarded a coat and badge, hence the historic origin of the pub’s name. It was raced every 1 August against the outgoing (falling or ebb) tide, in the boats used by watermen to ferry passengers across the Thames. Today it is raced at a date and time in late July that coincides with the incoming (rising or flood) tide, in contemporary single sculling boats. Thomas Doggett was an actor who became manager at the Drury Lane Theatre and the Haymarket Theatre before becoming a politician and wit. www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk

(N) Somerset House The central block of the Neoclassical building was the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers and dates from 1776–96. It was extended by classical Victorian wings to north and south. A building of the same name was first built on the site more than two centuries earlier. The East Wing of Somerset House forms part of King's College London.

From 1837 it housed the Registrar General of Births, Marriages and Deaths, establishing a connection that lasted for almost 150 years. This office held all Birth, Marriage and Death certificates in England and Wales; indexes to these are now at The National Archives.  In the late 20th century if became a centre for the visual arts with numerous galleries, performances and events. 

(O) The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within the Southbank Centre in London. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected (in 1981). The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestras perform the majority of their London concerts in the hall. The hall was built as part of the Festival of Britain by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts for London County Council, and was officially opened on 3 May 1951. Since the late 1980s the hall has operated an 'open foyers' policy, opening up the substantial foyer spaces to the public throughout the day, even if there are no performances. This has proved very popular and the foyers are now one of the best used public spaces in London.

(P) Piccadilly Until the 17th century the street was known as Portugal Street. The name Piccadilly may have arisen from a tailor named Robert Baker, who owned a shop on the Strand, in the late 16th century and early 17th century. He amassed a large fortune by making and selling piccadills - stiff collars with scalloped edges and a broad lace or perforated border, that were then in fashion. With his great fortune he purchased a large tract of what was then open country to the west of London and in about 1612 he built a large house there. The mansion soon became known as Piccadilly Hall.   www.wikipedia.org

(Q) The Royal Academy of Arts was founded through a personal act of King George III on 10 December 1768 with a mission to promote the arts of design in Britain through education and exhibition. it aimed to raise the professional status of the artists, to foster a national school of art and to encourage appreciation and interest in the public, based on recognised canons of good taste.  The famous summer exhibition is held every year.  Any artist can submit work but only about one in ten is selected for exhibition.  

(R) Bond Street The street was named after Sir Thomas Bond – comptroller of the Household to Charles I’s widow - Queen Henrietta Maria.  The southern end, Old Bond Street was built 1684 -1732 and the extension north to Oxford Street, New Bond Street, was added in the 1720’s.  Both are generally shorted to just Bond Street.

The route is not suitable for wheelchairs as there are too many steps without an alternative. The pedestrian bridge over the Thames would be totally inaccessible if the lift was not working to anyone who could not climb the equivalent of 2 flights.